Maya Travels
Thursday, June 10, 2004


HERE GOES MY DIARY OF MY VACATION APRIL 17 TO MAY 8, 2004 TO MEXICO, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS & BRIEFLY BELIZE TO REALIZE A LONG HELD DREAM TO VIEW MAYA RUINS.....MAYA INFO SEVEN MUST-SEES ACCORDING TO MICHAEL COE’S “THE MAYA” Sixth Edition 1999 Time-wise divided into the EARLY CLASSIC (250 – 600 A. D) to LATE CLASSIC (600 – 900 A.D.). See the last page for another estimate. Regionally, the Maya are divided into the CENTRAL ZONE (which was the earliest to develop) Tik’al, Palenque, Yaxchilan and Bonampak, the SOUTHERN ZONE - Copan and the NORTHERN ZONE, which included Chich’en Itza and Uxmal. 1) CHICH’EN ITZA (Original name: Uukil abnal meaning “Seven Bushes”) Map – Period & Dates – History - Buildings – Importance Terminal-Classic Period: 800 A.D. to 925 A.D. History: A little cloudy until more excavations accomplished at this site. Recent glyphic translations and iconographic information point to a Toltec invasion around 800 A.D. which combined earlier Mayan sculpture with elements from Tula, 50 miles N.W. of Mexico City. Notable copies are the columns found at this site. Around 1224-44, the Itza from the Peten appear as squatters in a desolate city and renamed it Chich’en Itza. The Itza possibly took over the salt industry along the Yucatan coast. In 1984 – 85 Anthony Andrews & Fernando Robles excavated the tiny island Isla Cerritos at the mouth of the estuary of port of Chich’en Itza, with a seawall pierced by entryway on the exposed side, with ceramics virtually identical to those of the great Toltec-Maya capital. The Yucatan’s greatest natural resource was salt and the Islas were strategically placed for trade in this necessary commodity. (Pg. 178) Buildings: The Nunnery El Castillo or Temple of Kukulcan or Quetzacoatl The Caracol The Temple of the Warriors Sacred Cenote The Largest Ball Court of the Maya Sites Importance: Magnificence of el Castillo The Caracol – the only snail shaped “observatory” of the Maya sites 2) UXMAL (in Maya means “Thrice Built”) Terminal-Classic Period: 750 A.D. to 925 A.D. History: This site, located approx. 50 miles south of Merida is located in a range of low hills covered with brush. Building began in the 5-600’s A.D.(1995 – Insight Guide to Mexico – Pg. 323 – 326). Some of the sapodilla lintels are still in evidence from this period. (See Pg, 205 -Moon Travel 1999 Yucatan Peninsula Handbook). Some believe it was founded by Maya from the Peten region in Guatemala. Others contend that it goes back to the Pre-Classic period. Unlike most of the Yucatan, the Puuk region has good soil, although lack of cenotes made the storage of water in man-made chultunes mandatory for their survival.There are many edifices dedicated to the rain god, Chak. The early history from the few legible dates found on buildings and monuments are garbled, but from pottery remains and archeological styles it is obvious that Uxmal was built in about five stages. Most construction took place between 600 - 900 A.D. In the mid - 900’s, Uxmal was deserted, probably due to a defeat by Chich’en Itza’s Toltec army. It had grown to be a center of Puuk city organizations. Buildings: Hallmarks of the Puuk style of architecture include thin squares of limestone veneer, decorated cornices, boot-shaped vault stones, rows of attached half columns, and upper façades heavily decorated with stone mosaics and sky-serpent monster masks. House of the Turtles Governor’s Palace Pyramid of the Magician The Nunnery Quadrangle House of the Pigeons Cemetery Group Importance: The largest Puuk site Had great palaces 3) PALENQUE (originally “Lakamha”, in Hispanic, “fortified place” – Pg. 9) Early to Late Classic Period: 250 A.D. to 800 A.D.?? History: Sits on a lush green shelf at the edge of the Sierra de Chiapas rain forest just above the green flood plain of the Usumacinta River. Though structures are continually being excavated, scholars have been able to decipher many glyphs to construct a reasonable genealogy from 501 A.D. to 783 A.D. The reign of various kings is well documented, however in no book was one able to discover their early beginnings. Palenque apparently dominated a wide area for some years, however, its prominence and glitter gradually dwindled and the last historical record to be found in this city is dated 799 A.D. Buildings: This Maya site is renowned for its extraordinary stucco bas-relief sculpture. Their figures are taller than most Maya art, often reaching a height of three meters. Temple of the Sun – the most perfect of all Maya buildings – to Jaguar,God of the Underworld Temple of the Cross – shows God I – to Merchants Temple of the Foliated Cross – Tree of Maize & Mountain of Sustenance Temple of the Inscriptions discovered in June, 1952 by Alberto Ruz – contains a funerary crypt (with priceless artifacts) to Hanab Pakal dated 683 A.D. A large jade was held in each hand and another placed in his mouth, a practice documented for the late Yucatecs, the Aztecs and the Chinese. Maya name for this temple is “Bolon Ete Na” or “Nine Figures House”. The Palace and Tower - one of the most unusual Maya structures Importance: Considered the most beautiful of all Maya sites. Artists excelled in stucco work. 4) BONAMPAK’ (Mayan translation means “painted walls”) Early Classic ???600 A.D. to 800 A.D. History: Believed to have been a minor ceremonial center under the domination of nearby Yaxchilan. Politically important during the Early Classic, but by the Late Classic, an insignificant site. It lies not far from the Rio Lacanha, a tributary of the Usumacinta system. Their murals dated to shortly before 800 A.D. relates a single narrative: the story of a battle, its aftermath and the victory celebrations. Bonampak’ was abandoned before the murals were finished. These murals shed considerable light on the warlike interests of the Maya leaders, upon social organization and stratification in a Maya center. The brilliant blue pigment used was an invention attributed to the Late Classic period. Discovered in 1946. In 746 A.D., the city was subordinate to the king of Yaxchilan. Buildings: Several small Temples located on the terraced mound that supports the Temple of the Murals with its Maya Blue – produced by mixing indigo (a vegetable dye) with a special clay and heating the combination. Importance: For its lively-colored Mayan painting The widest carved monument measuring 9 x 16 ft. 5) YAXCHILAN (in Maya, means “green stone”) See Moon Travel - Yucatan Peninsula Handbook Classic Era 320 A.D to 840 A.D. History: This, once major city, has pyramids built on natural rises in the ground. It lies on gentle hills along a gentle curve of the Usumacinta River. Most notable structures are decorated with crisply delineated figures and glyphs against a deeply etched background. First exploration of this site was in the 1800’s. Buildings: Structure 33 - Temple dominates from a hilltop Nos. 21, 23, 42 & 44 – four elaborately decorated structures Stela 11 – by the river Importance: Known for its magnificent carvings 6) TIK’AL (known as “Mutul”) Classic Period 250 A.D to 900 A.D. Its somewhat “colloidal” appearance is typical of all known Classic centers with temples and palaces built on rises in the ground. Only one excavated site in the Peten area appears to have regular streets laid out like those in Teotihuacan. History: This site, with its tallest monument second in height only to the Colossal Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihucan, is located in what is now northern Guatemala. Although there appears to have been a shortage of surface ground water, by about 250 A.D., its position on a portage route between major river systems connecting the east and west coast of the Yucatan proved to be a strategic position for trade and a dominant center for political and economic power. Fifty square miles are dotted with about 3000 foundations of old dwellings, so closely packed that there was no room for traditional slash-and-burn farming. It is estimated that 40,000 inhabitants in the 700’s must have depended on their gardens for food and traded for other necessary items. There are several artificial reservoirs of some size, surrounded by embankments, which provided sufficient water for the inhabitants over the dry season. Translators now agree that the ornately dressed figures are not priests, but those of Mayan rulers. The inscriptions tell of their lives. Traces of charcoal left by fires on the hill underlying the North Acropolis indicate people living there in 600 B.C. Early Classic Period 250 A.D. to 550 A.D.: There appears to be a strong influence from Teotihuacan. Some buildings show Mexican influence with portraits of their Gods and warriors appearing on pottery and monuments in this era. The collapse of Teotihuacan civilization around 600 A.D. had a profound influence on Tik’al, for no new stelae were raised for almost a century (582 - 673). They had been erecting stelae at 20 year intervals for more than 250 years. Classic Period 550 A.D. to 900 A.D.: Five great Temples were erected between 700 and 810 A.D., then sometime around 900 A.D., building and government activity ceased. People continued to live in the area and to use the monuments for cult worship, but the Classic Maya Period was over. Buildings: (from Lorraine Carlson’s 1970 edition of Traveleer Guide to Yucatan & Guatemala) Looking at a map of Tik’al , there appears to be a triangle formed by three Causeways, the Tozzer Causeway (using this as a base), the Maudslay Causeway and the Maler Causeway. The fourth, the Mendez Causeway extends like a giant handle down from the Central Acropolis. Grand Plaza covers 2 ½ acres - the earliest stones date back to 150 B.C. To its north is the North Acropolis. The great mass of temples began about 200 B.C. Over the next 1000 years there is evidence of about 100 buildings being rebuilt, often superceding one another. It seems to have been a ritual center. The core of the oldest temple put up in the 400’s, the outer shell in the 700’s. A tomb under one temple is that of Stormy Sky and he is pictured in Teotihuacan garb. The great platform of this North Acropolis is 30 - 40’ in depth and contains vestiges of building for over 2000 years. From 200 B.C.- 550 A.D., a series of elaborate buildings on this site were torn down and completely new buildings were erected. And to the south-east is the Central Acropolis. Most of these buildings are completely different from those of the North Acropolis, they date from the Late Classic Period - 550 to 900 A.D., however centuries of construction work lie beneath them. The five acre platform has 6 courtyards. One of the many palaces, offices or religious retreats, backs onto a ravine that was dammed to form a palace reservoir. It is known as Maler’s Palace. To the east of the Great Plaza is Temple I - the best known of all the buildings in Tik’al is also known as the Temple of the Giant Jaguar. It holds the tomb of Double-Comb, who died in 730 A.D. It is 145’ tall. On the west of the Grand Central Plaza is Temple II – a shorter and simpler version of Temple I, it was built by Double-comb for his wife. It is famous for the largest stelae, which when whole stood 12’ tall. Temple III, further west of the Central Plaza and south of the Tozzer Causeway, is called the Temple of the Jaguar Priest. It was built in 810 A.D. and is 180’ tall. Temple IV, at the end of the Tozzer Causeway, is the greatest of the Tik’al pyramids, measures 212’ from the base of its supporting platform to the top of its roof comb. It is known as Temple of the Double Headed-Serpent -. Temple V, to the east of the South Acropolis, is the second largest of the great pyramids. It is a contemporary of Temples I & II and was built in 700 A.D. Its difference lies in that all its corners are rounded. Then off to the south of the Great Plaza is the South Acropolis. Go up the side of an 80’ high platform at the top of which is a temple surrounded by palaces dated to 600 A.D. To the west of the South Acropolis is the Plaza of the Seven Temples - visitors can walk over one of three ball courts. Seven temples on the east side - the central temple is decorated with skulls and crossed bones, three on the south are decorated with carvings of human heads. The Windowed Palace is further to west on the south side of the Tozzer Causeway. This palace has a row of low windows on the west side, which are seldom found in Maya structures. From there, there is another causeway, the Maudsley Causeway going north to Complex M almost destroyed when the Maya were building the Maudsley Causeway, Complex P has an intact stela and a deeply incised altar that shows a prisoner lying on his stomach and Group H. A path leads south downhill along the Maler Causeway toward the Central Plaza. Past the ticket office from the west, the first ruins to be seen are Complex Q and Complex R. Much further south of Great Plaza complex is the Mendez Causeway which leads to the Temple of the Inscriptions. The long inscription includes the date 766 A.D. As with all Maya centers, nothing could be more alien than the grid plan seen in Teotihuacan. Importance: Over 200 stone monuments have been found at the ruins, these include stelae and altars. About 3,000 major structures were found in central Tik’al Attracts about 35,000 visitors per year. One of the largest Maya centers and one of the greatest in the New World with six temple pyramids, veritable skyscrapers among buildings of their class. Corbeled Arch, a hallmark of Classic Maya buildings was introduced at this time. 7) COPAN Early Classic Period 550 A.D. - 822 A.D. History: (See Pg. 28 Moon Handbooks Honduras Sept. 2000) Situated above a tributary of the Rio Motagua, the Copan River, it lies in western Honduras, now famed for its tobacco. An unknown people thought to have some links with the Teohihucan culture in Mexico crossed the Sierra Espirtu Santo from Guatemala into the valley of Copan around 100 A.D., conquering the Maya speaking inhabitants of this region. After solidifying control, they began building the city of Copan around 400 A.D. The first dated glyph is from 426 A.D. This began the ruling dynasty of Copan which lasted until 822 A.D. Mysteriously, as with the Maya cities in the Yucatan and Guatemala, Copan collapsed and was abandoned after 900 A.D. It seems odder still as these were separate, independent city states. One widely held theory is that deforestation and soil erosion led to a population too large for the surrounding lands to support. Maya continued to live in the area. Buildings: The principal temple-pyramids rest on an artificial acropolis which has been partially carried away by the Copan River: Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway (Temple 25), completed in the 700’s has 2,500 glyphs, most of which were found in extremely jumbled condition and are far from easy to reconstruct. The Ball Court here is the most perfect known for Classic Maya. Sixty-three Stelae from Early and Late Classic and Fourteen Altars are placed on the north end of this site, in a broad court bounded by narrow stepped platforms. The Mountain of Sustenance (Temple 22), is well known in later Aztec mythology and concerns crops of maize sustain the human race. This building is attributed to ruler “18 Rabbit” who took power on July 9th 695 A.D. Great Plaza is crowded with monuments to “18 Rabbit”. This ruler was apparently captured and beheaded by a neighboring ruler at Quirugua, but the next successor, “Smoke Monkey” regained the upper hand and built the Mat House - the council chamber of the city. Structure 9N-82 , built in 781 A.D. was Devoted to the Monkey-Man Scribes. This palace may have been inhabited by high ranking scribes and their families. (See Pgs.115 to 133 M. Coe) Importance: One of the loveliest Classic Maya ruins (See Pg. 115 M. Coe) Greatest center for arts, astronomy and science (See Pg. 28 – Moon Handbooks Honduras) Copan artists worked in a greenish volcanic tuff which was superior to the limestone used by other Peten centers. MAYALAND ITINERARY (April 17 – May 8, 2004) Per Travel Agent Robin @ 1-800 451 8017 on March 25, 2004, est. cost of trip with Rolf doubling for 7 days from Copan to San Pedro Sula -3290.00, plus flight on Delta airlines from Chicago to Cancun - $275.83, plus tax on U.S Airways (using mileage miles)- $17.60 and finally $202.00 for flight on Taco Air from San Pedro Sula in Honduras to Belize City, Belize, back to Chicago. TIPS FOR DRIVER & GUIDE SUGGEST $5.00 (American dollars) each per day Day #1 (Saturday, April 17) Dorothy fly – Delta Airlines Flight # 2053 leaves Chicago @ 6am, Cincinnati @ 8:15, Flight # 718 @ 8:11 to Cancun @ 11:30am. Confirmation #QKJJL5 “Tour” will provide transfer to the Fiesta Americana – want a quiet room in an older building on the ocean. THE DIARY BEGINS on MAY 26, 2004 April 17, 2004 Saturday Up at 3:00am. Christopher in a good mood as usual, drove me to O’Hare airport. We left at 3:45, got to the airport by 4:15. Short line at security, off on Delta, arrived at 8:15 (9:15 Cincinnati time). Arrived in Cancun @ 11:30am. A kind man helped me up and down with my wheeley bag, then down the steps from the airplane. We loaded ourselves onto a bus, then up more steps to the Customs room. Hot and sunny outside, cool and air conditioned inside.. Massive influx of tourists – had to wait in line for an hour. One couple from Vermont with a 2 and 4 year old girl, immediately stripped both girls down to a diaper and panties and vigorously applied suntan lotion all over their bodies. The little one never stopped screaming, the customs officials let them right through! They looked at my passport and customs declaration, I pocketed the “computer”card they gave me and tried to find a MayanQuest driver who was supposed to pick me up. I found a short line in front of an “Exit” sign, gave my computer card to a lady in uniform, still no Greeter in sight. I asked directions from a lot of Mexican looking guys in uniform for directions-no clear understanding by either of us. An oriental-looking guy of around 35 took me in hand, tried a phone number of the hotel near the exit (phone not working). He then led me to the international exit, used his phone card x 2. I finally called myself and spoke with Hilda. I asked the “helper” how much for the phone calls and he said $10.00. So, I parted with the first two of my $5 bills. Anyway, he stuck with me until the MayanQuest driver appeared. He had waited for an hour with my name on a card and when I did not appear, due to the delay in customs, he had left the airport. Anyway, we drove to the Fiesta Americana (also called Condesa), a sporty, 4 storied structure with a large palapas over the entrance. I checked in at 1:30pm went down to a hot, very clean, sandy beach by the bluest of sparkling sapphire-blue seas (it was the Caribbean) that I had ever seen in my entire life. The waves were too enormous for swimming and I fell asleep for an hour. Cancun is built on a sandy arc of land around a lagoon and my room was not on the ocean side. I slept until 7:30pm, down to dinner in the cafeteria. For 199 pesos (10 PESOS = $1.00), my Visa bill charged me $22.84 so that makes the exchange rate for that day more like 9 pesos = $1.00. I loved the beef that I had done very rare and fell in love with their raw pineapple with fresh lime and shredded coconut.. Slept until 6:30, after making telephone arrangements to be picked up by Hilda the next morning at 10:30am. April 18, 2004 – Sunday A little cloudy, got suited up and went down to investigate the possibility of swimming in the ocean, but the waves were still too rough, had my picture taken by a life guard. I was then picked up by Hilda Arista and Marco Canton, promptly at 10:30am. Hilda, at first meeting was a truly 5* person, intelligent, charismatic and caring. Unusual in Mexico, I am told, is a woman of 47, who is both attractive and independent. My every question and desire were fully realized. I did not want to visit the “colonial city of Valadolid”, so we drove directly to Chich’en Itza-in 2 ½ hours over a paved highway. Checked into the Villas Arqueologicas, my first Club Med - $70.00/night. Visited my first Maya site with Hilda. Very, very impressive. Begged off the “light and sound show” – was too tired. April 19, 2004 – Monday Hilda had hired a guide for the second day. He was very knowledgeable, his name was Jorge Rodriguez (phone # 001-52-999-9099662), He was in his late 50’s and had 1 grown son, who graduated in archeology and was now a tour guide-somewhere. We toured in 110 degree Fahrenheit heat and climbed the 62-odd steps inside El Castillo to see the red jaguar studded with jade and the chakmool. My quads ached for 3 days afterwards! We walked the white sacred road (sachbe) down to the Sacred Cenote. Jorge pointed out the impression of an Olmeca face beside this raised walkway-supposedly dated to 2200 b.C.?? We admired the Grand Ball Court and took a lot of pictures. By 3pm, we were all so we exhausted, that I suggested that we miss the long walk to the Caracol and the Nunnery (much to my regret later on in the tour as the Nunnery appeared to have similar architecture as Uxmal). One of Jorge’s many explanations was where the word “Yucatan” came from: the Maya.“ma te ye ta katun” meaning, “What did you say?”. In 1885, 100 acres of jungle including the actual Maya site, had been purchased for $75.00 by an American Consul, named Edward H. Thompson. From there, you can ride, by horseback over the sections of Chich’en Itza that are still being excavated (regrettably, I did not learn of this opportunity until too late!) Thompson had visited the pyramids of Egypt and with the patronage of the Peabody Museum at Harvard and Allison Vincent Armour of Chicago (a wealthy member of the meat packing company and also a member of the Board of the Field Museum in Chicago) managed to acquire a vast number of Maya artifacts From there, you can ride, by horseback over the sections of Chich’en Itza that are still being excavated (regrettably, did not learn of this opportunity until too late!) One of the highlights of this day was when I persuaded Marco to drive me to see how a Maya family was living today. At the second village, driving toward Cancun, Marco went up some steps and asked a Mr.Chan (common as Smith in English, he said) if we could come in and visit. It was a rare treat. As family of about 5 living in a palapas, no electricity, sleeping in hammocks, cooking over a wood fire on stones in the corner. A completely unannounced, visit. Took pictures of the entire compound of about ¼ of an acre, rocky with plants in every available bit of soil. Eighty-four year old mother in an immaculate huipil standing in the doorway of a newly built palapas. April 20, 2004 – Tuesday The next morning, met with the Cathey family from New Hampshire. Bill, a professional wood carve), wife Sandra, a musician who gives lessons-her main instrument is the oboe, #2 daughter Lexie-short for Alexandra , a U. student who spent a year in Costa Rica. Not with them was an older daughter, Bronwyn, a student at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. We set off for Uxmal by a circuitous route?? We drove by Mayapan, down to a town called Oxkutzcala, where we saw many Maya women dresses in their best, beautifully embroidered dresses called huipil. Hilda asked them what the occasion was and they told her they were lining up for free pollo and maise from the government. Next we saw a big street parade led by a PRI official. We stopped at a huge market place where the most colorful and varied produce was for sale. Reminded me of the market in Santa Cruz and Ancien’ Halls in Paris (was that really back in 1979?) Many of the dry goods were made in China. Marco went ape over the collection of CD’s and bought several. We drove on to Tikul which is famous for its pottery. Finally found a potter’s pottery shop. I bought a clay pig for Hilary and a rough edition of a Jaguar. Bill Cathey bought a very expensive, beautifully incised and colored vase. Hilda then took us to the Los Almendre Restaurant where I had the most delicious lime and chicken soup. Always looking for a pit stop for my not too reliable small bladder. Arrived at t, Mission Uxmal (wrong hotel-thank goodness), then the Hacienda Uxmal around 2pm - $75.00/night. Hilda and I toured a little of this site, famous for its stucco reliefs. My private balcony overlooked the swimming pool and what a sight it was that evening. Twenty-seven beautiful girls from travel agencies in Holland, paid for by the Mexican Tourist Bureau, down there in their biklinis. They all spoke Spanish and English. What a treat for Marcos and their one male driver. Marco, 28 years old, has been happily married for 8 or so months and they are expecting a son, “Angel” in August. They went out and bought I don’t remember how many cases of beer and partied well into the night. Before the partying began, Marco and Hilda showed me how to drink Tequila-with a slurp of a slice of lime followed by a slug of Tequila from a glass lined with salt! The swim in the pool was as refreshing as the dip I took at the Club Med at Chich’en Itza I also learned from Hilda that the land that Uxmal was located on was originally granted to a Spanish family by the name of Miguel Barbachano (governor of the Yucatan around 1841) or owned originally by Pedro de Barba who had accompanied Cortes to the area in 1519. In 1921, Fernando Barbachano Peon convinced a group of passengers to disembark from their ship (in Campeche??) and tour the Yucatan with him. His achievement marked the beginnings of organized tourism in Mexico. His home became the luxurious Mayaland Resort Hotel. April 21, 2004 – Wednesday Toured Uxmal with guide Hilda hired named Jorge Burges. Not as great as Jorge Rodriguez, but certainly helpful. Asked that he not concentrate on the Maya number or calendar system as my head was still reeling from the info from the first Jorge. We left him before the Catheys and Hilda climbed the formidable height up to the Governor’s Palace and the Palace of the Turtles. I did not do this climb, Hilda took my camera took pictures with both hers and mine. I wondered how much of the Nunnery complex had been restored. Must get drawings by Frederick Catherwood to compare. both of Chich’en Itza and Uxmal. I was impressed by the number of grotesque faces dedicated to the Rain God, Chak. Big nose, a snake’s they say, looks more like an elephant trunk to me. In the hot afternoon, Marco drove us, in the air conditioned, 8-seater Suburban van, to K’abah, Sayil and Labna. A causeway (sachbe) runs 11 ¼ miles runs from the Puuk site of Uxmal to K’abah which is noted for its Kotz’ Po’op palace with its façade of hundreds of monster masks and for its free standing arch. I bought a wooden mask, carved from Spanish cedar, of the rain god Chak. I paid about $89.00 for it but it was in honor of Daddy, who used to stand on the porch at Wishart and shake his fist at the sky, demanding, “Send ‘er down, David, send ‘er down”. No rain, no crops even in Saskatchewan. I also bought a white, cotton dress with long fringe at the hem and sleeves for $19.00. In the heat, we then drove a little further south to Sayil where there was a 3-story palace. Then on to Labna with the tallest corbel arch of the Maya world and a very tall pyramid (restored???). I was too hot and tired (or hung over from the Tequila the night before?) to do much more than take a picture of each site, although Hilda and I did walk the sacbe from the palace ruins at Labna to the magnificent arch constructed with huge triangular stones. We had a farewell dinner with the Cathey’s in the dining room that night and in the midst of eating, a call came from the office next door for “Dorothy”. It was Rolf, after dialing a lot of numbers, he finally located me. His first question was: “Where are you?” A heavy contingent of German tourists arrived that evening, complete with their “commander-in-chief”, a stout lady with a booming voice that brooked no dissent. I explained to Hilda that my own Mother had been German, but that I thought the language was the least attractive sounding. She then went into her famous mimicry dialogue saying with suave sincerity, first in French: “Je t’aime”, in Italian:“Amore“, very clipped in English: “I love you”, in Spanish with verve and feeling: “Te amo” and then in German with a guttural grimace :“Ich Lieber Dich“. She had me in stitches! April 22, 2004 – Thursday Marco, Hilda and I set off for the 6 – hour drive to Palenque. We drove through the low, brush covered Puuk hills, skirted Campeche (and the promise of a great seafood dinner) and then wound our way up through jungle-like forest to Palenque. When we arrived, we could just see the snow covered peaks of the Mountains of North Chiapas. These mountains and behind them the Sierra Madre de Chiapas supply the water for the cenotes that pock mark the upper reaches of the Yucatan Peninsula. As we skirted Campeche, Hilda told me the origin of the cocktail. The early explorers or buccaneers, would drop anchor at this port on the Caribbean and order a cup (cops in Spanish) of brew from the natives. They were served in a wooden cup with a tail for a handle, hence the cock (cops)-tail. Marco stopped at a couple of shops as Hilda tried to find such as wooden cup for me to buy. I checked into the Chan Kah Resort Village – recommended in the Sunday New York Times on April 27, 2003 - $150.00/night was too expensive for Mayan Quest to pay for Hilda and Marco, they had to rent a room in a hotel in Palenque. This complex is owned by a Roberto Romano-a Jewish family from Mexico City. My bungalow was down a path from the main dining room and more than adequate for my needs with air conditioning, no coffee maker. Heard the dreadful sound of the Howler monkeys for the first time. Sounded like the roar of jaguars! The swimming pool was great, weather hot and the people that I met at poolside very interesting, especially Margarita and Carlo Ramairone from Manhattan and their beautiful daughter, Ileana (spelling?). Ileana, whose ambition was to open a Yoga Center someday, had backpacked along the west coast of Mexico since September and had just spent 8 days with a Maya group, monitoring any civil rights offences for Global International.. Her father, after “returning to New York City to attend to some business, is planning on meeting her in Cuba”. . . Hilda and I toured some of the Palenque ruins before dinner that night. Very impressive again. Hilda always had a fund of anecdotes which she told with accuracy and humor. She told me a long story about a peyote healer, named Maria Sabina from Oaxaca, and with devotion the story of Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadelupe. I did not take many notes when she told me these incredible stories, I have shored them up with information gained from Google.com. Maria Sabina, a native of Huautla de Jimenez, was born, was born in 1896. At an early age she showed a gift for healing. Her mother’s brother, her uncle lay dying and all attempts to prolong his life were abandoned, when Maria went to a sacred, shady place up in the mountains. There she picked a mushroom, previously known and later called peyote or psilocybe caeralescans var. mazatecorum. This inspired her to pick a few choice leaves of Salvia Divinorum (also referred to as ska Maria Pastora or Holy Mary) and concocted a brew for her uncle. His recovery paved the way for his niece to become a celebrated curandura or Mazatec shaman. Hilda’s reference to Maria Sabina’s treating children came up in Google from Maria Sabina’s biography as “If I have a sick person when the mushrooms are not available, I resort to the “hojos de la Pastora. The crushed leaves (molida) and taken then work like the children (ie. the mushroom. Of course the Pastora does not have as much strength”. She also refers to her little saints (?) Maria Sabina died at the age of 91 on November 22, 1985. She felt at the end of her long life that her magic powers had been diminished by sharing the knowledge with foreigners. The shamans of this area apparently use Salvia Divinorum, seeds of the Morning Glory and Mushrooms for medicinal and religious purposes. The ingestion of Salvia Divinorum is supposed to be taken in the dark in utter silence and its curative effects are for headache, rheumatism, swelling of the belly, and aid in defecation and urination. Next, in Hilda’s fascinating tale, comes Robert Gordon Wasson. Born in Montana in 1898, his parents encouraged diversity in intellectual development through languages, travel and visits to museums. He graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism spent time at the London School of Economics then went on to working for newspapers and the J.P. Morgan Banking concern. His marriage to a Russian pediatrician prompted an interest in hallucinogenic mushrooms. In his search for the magic mushroom TEONANACTL, of Meso-American folklore, he visited Maria Savina at her home in Huautl de Jimenez. On June 29-30, 1955, he is the first recorded outsider to participate in a “Mushroom Velado” He consumed 6 pairs of Psilocybe Caerulescens. He published his experiences in Life magazine on May 13, 1957. Although he used a pseudonym for Maria, the world soon found her. The CIA even sent an agent down to see if the chemicals found could be used in chemical warfare! In July 1961, he ingested the squeezed juice of 34 leaves of Salvia Divinorum. His vision was disturbed and he saw colored geometric designs. In 1962, Wasson was accompanied by the Swiss pharmacologist, Albert Hofman, later famous for inventing LSD. Wasson went on to explore drugs in native ceremonies in New Zealand, New Guinea, India, China and Japan. In 1969, he published a book on these areas called, “Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality”. Before his death in New York in 1986, his writings were generally accepted as scientific research, but have been met with some reservations. And now for Juan Diego, who is credited with uniting the native Indian beliefs with that of the conquering Spaniards religion, Roman Catholicism .”He established recognition of the native population”. The enormous Basilica of Nuestra Senora de Guadelupe in Mexico City is the most visited site in the Western Hemisphere. Its location on the hill of Tepeyac was a place of great sanctity long before the arrival of Christianity in the New World. It had been crowned with a temple to the Virgin Goddess of Fertility called Tonatzin, also asssocisted with the moon. It had been an important place of pilgrimage for the nearby Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Following the conquest of Hernan Cortez in 1521, the temple was demolished. Two years later, the first Roman Catholic missionaries to convert the indigenous Indians to Catholicism. On December 9, 1531, a baptized (1525) Indian boy by the name of Juan Diego Cuauhtlahtoatzin was passing the sacred hill on his way to church, when a 14 year old girl appeared in a golden mist. THE CHRISTIAN TELLING OF THE STORY SAYS THAT THE GIRL REVEALED HERSELF AS “EVER-VIRGIN HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD”. She instructed Juan Diego to tell the local bishop to build a church on the very spot. The incredulous bishop did not believe the boy until Juan Diego brought him an armful of roses in his tilma (a cloak made of perishable cactus fiber) or “ayate” (vestment as described by Hilda) from the wintry hillside. When Juan Diegp unrolled the rose-encrusted shawl-ayate, the miraculous image of the virgin appeared wearing an open gown and standing on a moon. The bishop promptly built a church. Indians, by the thousands, learning that the mother of the Christian God had appeared to one of their own and spoken to him in native language, came 100’s of miles to see the image, now hanging above the altar in the new church. On major festival days, the atmosphere of devotion created by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims is truly electrifying, STRANGER THAN SCIENCE!! In Mexico City, on July 31st 2003 Juan Diego Cuauhtlahtoatzin was canonized by the Roman Catholic pontiff, John Paul II. In doing so, he set aside persistent doubts that the new saint had ever existed. Skeptics had contended that Juan Diego was a figure of legend, created by the Spanish Conquistidors to aid in the cause of evangelization, but a panel of historians, appointed by the Vatican, reported finding proof of his existence in ecclesiastical archives in Latin America and the Vatican. John Paul said: “Consequently, Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a model of perfectly incultured evangelization……with a vitality that surpassed all expectations. Christ’s message, through his mother, took up the central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them and gave them the definitive sense of salvation. Thus Juan Diego facilitated the fruitful meeting of two worlds and became the catalyst of the new Mexican identity, closely united to our Lady of Guadalupe, whose mestizo face expresses her spiritual motherhood which embraces all Mexicans” The name Guadalupe may have come from a town in Extramadura, the state in Spain where many Conquistidores came from or it may be a corruption of the Aztec word in Nahuatl, Coatlaxopeuh, meaning “defeater of the serpent”. The Madonna of Guadalupe was made patron of Mexico in 1737. The small village of Guadalupe in Extramadura grew up around a monastery founded in 1340. According to legend, a shepherd found a charred wooden image of the Virgin Mary in the early 1300‘s. The monastery grew due to royal patronage and was the site in 1496 of the baptism of the first Caribbeans brought to Europe by Columbus. “THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE IS MADE TRUE BY THE FAITH OF THE MEXICAN PEOPLE” a quote from the venerable warrior, Hilda Arista. April 23, 2004 - Friday My second day in Palenque. We got to the ruins about 9:30am and Hilda hired a guide by the name of Salvador Flores. Bigger than most at 6’, he was about 30 years old and most remarkably, had blue eyes. He was from Villahermosa in Tabasco, showed us pictures of his three children before admitting that his wife was divorcing him (for infidelity – Marco later found the current object of his affections working as a cell phone saleslady in the town of Palenque). Anyway, he proved to be a remarkably knowledgeable guide and had a book on Hanab Pakal (683 A.D.) by Arturo Romano (ISBN970-18-6960-50) which I could not find in the museum. The photos of the skeleton (covered with 700 pieces of jade), taken in the funerary crypt in the Temple of the Inscription, I found fascinating – also Salvador’s information on Linda Shiele’s confirmation of his age being 80 years. In pictures the pieces of jade mask covering his face, appeared more Caucasian than Oriental, Negroid or Indian. The sarcophagus was discovered by the Mexican archeologist, Alberto Ruz, in 1952. I did not descend into the crypt, some 80’ down from the floor of this elevated temple. I learned that 97% of the site was still covered by jungle, it measured 2 ½ kms x 2 ½ kms., that there were a total of 1,438 estimated buildings, that Ruz had re:constructed the 3rd floor of the Palace Tower with the oriental-looking eaves from impressions from another building; that the main God of Palenque was either God of the Sun K’inich or the God of Wind, Ich whose open T-shaped openings in the Palace certainly indicated his importance in this hot and humid climate. Salvador left us, after climbing many steps with his assistance, at the mound where the Temple of the Cross, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Foliated Cross stood. Hilda climbed all three and took pictures for me. Before Salvador left us, he gave me Xeroxed copies of the inscriptions from each of these three temples. At the museum afterwards, I bought a book on Popal Vuh, the sacred book of the ancient Maya Quiche. It was later explained to me that this book (like the Greek and Norse myths) was an explanation of the beginnings of the Maya people, interpreted by the Dominican friar, Francisco Ximenez. The Popal Vuh deals with the origin of the world and the creation of humans; the adventures of two demigods in Xibalba (the region of the dead), and finally gives information about the origin of the indigenous people of the region – their migrations, wars and conquests, followed by a chronology of their rulers. Hilda and I saw a large slab of smooth limestone, discovered in August 2000 or 2002, within temple XXI in the Southern Acropolis. It had minute carvings on it depicting the reign of the governor, K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb’(712-736 A.D.). The excavation was financed by Pemex. When the fragments were assembled, they measured about 2’ x 10’. Quite a remarkable piece to see. April 24, 2004 - Saturday In the morning, we went shopping for stamps (P.O. not open) and got pictures developed. We ate at the Maya Restaurant and I had the BEST meal: of chicken enchilada in mole verde with a side dish of guacamole. We drove back to Chan Kah at 10:30am, and there was my next guide and driver, Sergio Tuero and Jose. Bid a sad farewell to Hilda and Marco (gave each $35.00 tip for 7 great days). I was exhausted (again), told Sergio and Jose to take the rest of the day off. I swam in the pool and rested, lunch at 4:00pm of 2 tamales (yummy) and 2 lemonades. Sergio Tuero was 70 years old and remarkably fit and strong despite COPD from his (regrettable) habit of smoking. After becoming a widower, he married a 17-year old student of his from a college in Mexico City where he was teaching. With his second wife, now 34 years old, he has 3 children. He was born in an ocean liner on its way to Mexico from Spain. His mother was Italian and his father was Spanish (or the other way around). Somehow or other, Sergio entered the U.S.A. from Canada (I think), and spent time in Chicago working for Brach’s candy factory. His educational history is a little vague to me at this point, but he was extremely knowledgeable on the history of early Mexico and also on cooking. He gave me his recipe for the mole verde that I had enjoyed so much at the Maya Restaurant. I found the recipe in Rick Bayless’ “Authentic Mexican” cookbook (of the famous Mexican restaurant on Clark St. in Chicago – “La Frontera”) which was given to me by Richard Covello. The only difference was no radish leaves that Sergio included. Sergio’s history of Mexico bordered a little on the mythological. According to the notes that I took, with Sergio’s help, barbarians came from the north (Chichimeca) to Toltecs to Tula in 900 A.D. from Xochicalco 993 – Quetzalcoatl – Ce-actl-topilcin. Somehow or other, a white boy, born on 936 A.D. came out of Tula in 989 to Chich’en Itza to 1000 A.D. The Olmecas went to Teotihuacan to Toltecs. Sorry Sergio, this is the best that I can do! Jose, who, according to Sergio, is part Maya and part Spanish was 25 years old and had 2 children. . April 25, 2004 – Sunday Met Sergio in the morning and by my request, toured the (new) part of the excavations of Palenque. We walked across a meadow-like space where Sergio expounded on a count Waldeck (?) who married a Maya, re:built a pyramid and died at the age of 99 or so. When I told him that I wanted to see the South Acropolis, we changed directions, crossed a small stream and then went down at least 100 steep steps to Group C and then down more steps to Group B and the Bat Group. Sergio had to hold my arm all the way down!. What I really wanted to see was Temple XXI, but when we got there, it was roped off with yellow tape. Looking at the map that I bought, I can’t believe the distance that we walked that day. Group C & B had been partially excavated and only minimally restored, so I could understand why most people concentrate on the Group west of the Ot ul um river, which runs under a culvert past the Palace. ****See the printouts on the “Red Queen” and the printout on King Hanab Pakal. April 26, 2004 – Monday We left Palenque for Bonampak at 9:30 the next morning. Sergio had been to the Post Office and bought me 20 airmail stamps for 1.05 pesos each = 20.00 pesos. Sergio told me that I should have seen Kalak’mul, located in the south of the Yucatan Peninsula, and which, according to Michael Coe rivaled in size, strength and importance with Tik’al and Palenque. We drove without a police convoy, which apparently was unusual. I did take a picture of some Mexican Police inspecting cars at a check-point that were coming from Guatemala. This was a big no-no, so I had to be very careful with my camera as I took the picture through the windshield. We arrived at Bonampak around 11:30. This site is located at the edge of the Lacandon jungle near the Rio Lacanha. We were supposed to meet a Lacandon family and have lunch, but Sergio felt that they were not sanitary enough, so I had to be satisfied with interviewing a young Lacandon guy with Sergio as interpreter. He was without facial hair, which Sergio said was a sign that he was pure Lacandon. His name was Luke, 25 years old, had never been to school, could neither read nor write, but spoke Spanish. He said, he was not married, but had three “wives” and four children. He made his living with a garden and by selling tobacco. His religion was to worship the “old gods”. We paid something like $20.00 to enter the area where Bonampak was located. We were then driven over a low maintenance road by a local Indian-with facial hair-almost to the site. We could see where archeologists had cleared the area up to the three “dwellings” where the preserved paintings were discovered in 1946 by two American adventurers. I looked at the murals in the three rooms, hesitating to take a picture until I decided which one had the celebrated painting of the ruler receiving tortured prisoners. Although, it is described as being in Room 2, the effects of erosion (or removal?) left only a smudge of blue and ochre. I took a picture in Room 3, my flash accidentally went off and the guard then told me that I had to leave. I was able to get a picture off the internet (with son-in-law, Joe’s expertise) of the mummers in Room 1. We then drove to the small town of Corozol, arrived at 2pm. It is located across the border from Guatemala right on the banks of the Usumacinta River. We stayed at the Escudo Jaguar, which is a complex of thatch-roofed bungalows with stuccoed walls. This jungle retreat is owned by the Doriny (Sp??) family from Guatemala City. There was a mosquito net over my bed, but I did not use it as there were no little stingers due to the dry season. I had a comfortable bedroom with a private bathroom. We ate in an open, thatch-roofed cafeteria where Sergio suddenly blossomed into a bon vivant with other tour leaders. That evening, I wandered across the yard down to the river which was very, very low. There were a lot of people swimming, including a man from Paris, who described the water as being nice and warm. The next morning, I jokingly chided Sergio for not preparing me for a swim in the river and he replied that it was because there were crocodiles in the water. April 27, 2004 - Tuesday Had a good night’s rest before setting off at 10am, by motor boat, to see Yaxchilan (means “Green Stones” – of moss). We went upstream for about 45 minutes and finally docked on the riverbank. Sergio and I climbed, in the heat and humidity, a very steep and exhausting climb up to the ruins. A wide open grand plaza was surrounded by stelae and half restored buildings. About 200 steps up on the North side was the magnificent palace. It was about 5 stories high, and I did not climb up to the top. I did not take a picture of their ball court, which I later regretted because it had 3 stone markers in the center of the playing field. After returning to Corozol and the Escudo Jaguar for lunch, we had to pack up and leave by the Usumacinta for the Guatemalan hamlet of Bethel. The owner of Maya Quest, Augustn Ortiz (Pino) wanted Sergio to pick some clients up the next day at Lamisseta (Sp??) but the reason given for aborting my stay on the Mexican side was because of possible trouble with illegal immigrants coming over the river at the end of the month. So, we motored upstream and got to Bethel about 1pm. I asked Sergio if there wasn’t a time change, but he said no. He checked with a Maya lady at the top of the river bank, and sure enough, it was only 12pm, local time. As Sergio and Jose had a 6 hour drive to make along the “dangerous” border and did not want to do it in darkness, I told them after waiting for 45 minutes for the next pick-up to “Go, go”. So, off they went. Well Bethel may be on the map, but it is a very small village of about 50 inhabitants. After waiting in the heat for 3 hours, under the palapas of the Maya family, along with eight children, 2 or 3 dogs and an assortment of chickens, I began to get a little worried. What would I do for the night, no telephone, no language communication with the Spanish-speaking family. Well, I thought, I have some money, eating will not be a problem, sleeping might be. Just when I began surveying the road, up drives this 10-seat Toyota (2001 model with 160,000 miles on it, it later turned out), the driver’s window rolls down, and a man with bikers sunglasses, says, “Dorothy?” So began a wonderful association with a tour guide from Honduras, Gustavo Poublanc. He was 32 years old, had worked for his boss, Gilberto Arita (owner of Mayan Caribbean Travel) for 9 years, loved his job, and had no ambition to emigrate. His wife, Adele, whom he had put through college after their marriage (“if something happened to me, she had to be able to support herself and our daughter”), was the Human Resources Director for Lear Corp. in San Pedro Sula. Gustavo had played baseball as catcher and outfielder in his younger years and was still an avid New York Yankee fan. He told me that he would like to visit New York City to see a game, would also like to see Niagara Falls, snow in Colorado and also visit California. He was sophisticated enough to know that it would take several trips to see all these sights. It turned out that he had been subcontracted by Augustin Ortiz to be my guide and driver for the rest of the tour. He had just driven for 12 hours from San Pedro Sula to pick me up at 2 pm. After getting into the van, he asked me if I had had my passport stamped? By the Maya family? No. So, he asked if he could see my passport. It had only been stamped on my entry into Mexico. We drove for about 3 hours over the bumpiest, stone strewn road imaginable to the city of St Elenas. We arrived at the Peten Esplendido Hotel a 6:30pm. This very modern hotel is on the banks of the lake surrounding Flores, the capital of the Guatemalan province of Peten. Watched CNN news April 28, 2004 - Wednesday Looked at Flores from my balcony. This was originally Tayasal, the Itza holdout until conquered by the Spanish in 1697. Then went down and got my pot of hot water and had my 2 cups of hot Taster’s Choice, as usual. To the airport with Gustavo to see if a customs official would stamp my passport-no dice, even for $25.00 with no receipt! Walked to the bank for 50 $1.00 bills, had to wait in line for 45 minutes. Quite a mixture of people. On to the photo lab across the street-3 rolls for $4.16 7.73 Quetzalis=$100. Swam, napped, late in the afternoon, walked over the land bridge to Flores, saw 2 rooms- Gustavo pointed out some Maya artifacts in one of the rooms and some modern paintings in the other. Watched scenes from Falluja on T.V. that night, had fettuccune w/ham and herbs for dinner, read a lot about Tik’al. April 29, 2004 – Thursday The van that had to be pushed the previous day to get started, had the battery at the garage all day. It had to be replaced, the exchange rate on Gustavo’s credit card from Honduras was very poor at the hotel, but he needed $70.00 for the new battery. We left at 11:30 for Tik’al which was a 1-hour drive over paved roads. Checked into the Jungle Lodge at the site. Nicest arrangement of bungalows, so far. Walked up many, many steep steps up to the Grand Plaza, with Gustavo helping me all the way. On the way, I asked Gustavo if that was the name he preferred to be called. He said yes and what about myself, what names did I not like? I hesitated, and he said, come on, you can trust me. Now, I wish that I had. I finally told him “Dot” was a name I did not like. We saw Temple I (height 144.36’) and Temple II (122’), the Central and North Acropolis. Very, very impressive-see more details on these monuments described on May 1, 2004, following my visit to the museum in Tik’al. . Met Bernard and Gisella from Munich at dinner that night. April 30, 2004 – Friday Walked up a slow incline to complex Q and complex R, saw Temple III and then up to the base of Temple IV. Temple IV is 212’ tall, but I was surprised to find the lower 2/3 still covered with trees and shrubs. People climbed to the top by means of ladders. From a distance of about 2 football fields, I took a picture of this giant pyramid with Rolf’s Pentax, Gustavo took photos with his digital Sony P52 w/2x optical zoom and voila! With his close-up’s, I could see the people at the top of the pyramid. Like it much better than the Cathey’s little Kyocera. Gustavo pointed out the smoke marks on the excavated ruins that were a result of Alfred Maudslay burning down encroaching trees. He also pointed out the post holes left by builder’s scaffolds. Amazing details! Went to the little museum about 2 blocks away from the bungalow-got there at 4:30 just before it was due to close. Hurried back and woke Gustavo up from his nap to advise me on a couple of purchases. Dinner at 8pm with Bernard, Gisella and Gustavo was great fun. Gustavo was very entertaining, had us all in stitches with hi stories about “shooting the signs in Honduras” and then “shooting the spider” which Gisella was afraid of.. May 1, 2004 – Saturday This is May Day, a regular holiday, in Central America. I went back to the museum and took several pictures (I was only allowed four). Was very impressed with Aubrey Trik’s excavated skeleton of ruler Ha Sawa Chaan-K’awil, formerly known as Ah Cacaw or Ruler A from Temple I (also known as “The Great Jaguar”). Apparently, the only “fake” in this stunning display are the 16 ½ pounds of jade. On August 9th, 2004, I spoke to Sharon Aponte Misdea, a research associate in the American Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. She is the project manager for the Tikal Digital Access Project - phone # (215) 573-1186. She gave me more information on Aubrey Trik. He was an architect by training and acted as project field director and worked at Tikal intermittently from 1958 - 1966. He died of a heart attack at the age of 57 in 1968. In 2003, three mysterious boxes, labeled “Trik” surfaced in the Tikal Archives. The boxes contained more than 2700 images, as well as letters, documents and drawings belonging to Aubrey Trik. The story of how the boxes arrived at the Museum and who took the photos is still unfolding. The photos are some of the most remarkable color images of Penn’s excavations at Tikal. Aubrey Trik’s discovery of the skeleton took place in 1962 and analysis is still taking place. Before leaving the Lodge, Gustavo met with Arthur Demerest. I wish that I had met him too. Well, we were supposed to leave for Waxaktun (also spelled Uaxactun) at 9:00am, but my enthusiasm over the museum finds delayed us. This little jaunt took us 45 minutes over very unpaved, bumpy roads. Again, Gustsavo’s sharp observations made the best of this site: the rounded corners of the base of the pyramid, and the all-spice tree. Chided me for not naming it as a spice in pumpkin pie. I still have this leaf in a corked jar! While I rested under a tree, Gustavo climbed to the top of the South Plaza and took pictures of the corbel vault, the so-called “false arch”. Five little girls, named Consuela, Veronica, Glenda, Sylvia and Elvira kept following us around, trying to sell us their little “corn dolls”. Finally bought 5 of them for $7.00 (had to borrow the quelzelis from Gustavo). When we got back to the van, Gustavo noticed that money he had left under the dashboard was missing. We continued on our way back to St.Elenas at 1:00pm, arrived an hour later. I was given a minimal room on the street side. That night, only able to get Espanol Adelante on CNN, saw the first torture pictures from Abu Graib. May 2, 2004 - Sunday First night of sleep with only 2 Tylenol! Up as usual at 6am, Chicago time-to meet Gustavo at 8am for breakfast. Met Dan and Brian Donovan at the table-found that their guide and driver who were to take them to Tik’al for the day had left no message and were not around. So, Gustavo waited until they arrived and understood everything in English and Spanish. They are from New Jersey. Brian, the son, had just had his dread locks trimmed, was very adventuresome and had traveled extensively in Central America. Told me some alarming news: that Eugene, Oregon was just as full of marijuana as Santa Cruz, California. Anyway, we left at 11:30am (Chicago time) for a tour of a banana plantation and to see Quirigua. The banana plantation was interesting to me because of the blue plastic bags covering the bunches of bananas. This was to protect the fruit when the banana leaves had to be sprayed for the fungus, siratoka (yellow or black?) Apparently, in the early days, the United Fruit Company used to burn all the trees and move on to another site. In this way, they discovered more Maya ruins. Quirigua is famous for its red sandstone stelae. ****See the printout on Quirigua The large Maya temples were built from abundant sources of limestone and they used flint as cutting tools. Very early, they learned that burning limestone reduced it to a white powder, which, when mixed with water formed a plaster of great durability. Cement like fill and rubble, faced with huge blocks of limestone made for the construction of tall pyramids. Although Quirugua is only 30 miles north of Copan in Honduras, we had to snake our way over steep mountain roads, all paved. Before our climb over the Sierra las Minas, we stopped to take pictures on the bridge over Rio Dulce. We stopped at, Caparja, a small town on the Guatemalan border where Gustavo negotiated the stamping of my passport. For $15.00 and no receipt, the customs official stamped me in and out of Guatemala on May 2, 2004!! We arrived in the town of Copan Ruinas about 4:30pm. Met with Rolf and checked into a beautiful 2 bed-room with a patio, just behind the swimming pool. Rolf had arrived from San Pedro Sula at 12:30 and was frantic. He thought we’d been hijacked or something! Anyway, Rolf who was tired from his trip and frazzled by the 4-houe wait for our arrival, had a cold, laryngitis and still with a cough. He had flown the circuitous route for the miles to retain his premier status with U/A. Anyway, he told me about his hectic week: **Saturday afternoon, April 24th: went to Josephine’s last celebration of Shakespear’s birthday in Grant Park. Saturday night, April 24th: went out with Dick Covello. **Sunday, April 25th: worked on Albert Nader’s assignment on Bios for the Bible. **Monday, April 26th: Worked on Bible Bios. At 4:00pm, Ben Gums arrived by train from Jamestown, North Dakota on his way back to his first home in N.Y.C. They went to dinner at Berghoff’s that evening with friends of Bens, Clyde Bowles. The Bowles have a beautiful place on Cedar. **Tuesday, April 27th: Ben left at 11:30am. Rolf then worked on Bible Bios until 5am. **Wednesday, April 28th: Rolf works on the Bible bios until 3:30/4:00am. **Thursday, April 29th: Faxed Bible bios to Questar, wrote bills, cancelled the paper, spoke with Bill Mallek, went to the Bank, picked up a book he’d ordered, “Dull Clichés used in Language”, had a haircut, bought oysters and shopped at the Jewel for hors d’oeuvres for Eric and Karen’s visit and bought stuff at Osco for the trip. Thursday evening, Eric arrived at 6pm. He and Karen and Lola had arrived on Wednesday and spent their night at the Palmer House Hotel. Ate at Stephani’s. Great news-five year old Lola has an agent due to her performance in “White Nights”. Eric was the associate producer. Rolf came home and packed for his flight to L.A. the next morning. **Friday, April 30th: Left for O’Hare at 6:45am. U/A flight for L.A. left at 9:30am, arrived in L.A. At 1230pm. Had to wait 40 minutes for the shuttle. Met by Thor at the Hotel Sheraton. Left L.A. for Guatemala City at 11:30pm. **Saturday, May 1st: Arrived in Guatemala City at 5:30am. No Quetzalis, stayed at a hotel in Guatemala City, had a nap, went to the gym and worked out. At 5:30pm, flew to El Salvador, had to wait for in San Salvador for 2 hours to continue to San Pedro Sula - all on TACA airlines Arrived in San Pedro Sula at 7:30 or 8:00am, got to the Intercontinental Hotel at 9:30am. Had two Martinis **Sunday, May 2nd: Did exercises at the hotel gym, luggage arrived from Chicago. Driver from Mayan Qwest arrived before 8:30, had to abandon breakfast that had been ordered from room service. Arrived in Copan Ruinas at 12:30. Dorothy did not arrive until 4:30pm. “Together at last”. . May 3, 2004 - Monday The day, in retrospect, began inauspiciously enough. My usual routine: Up at 6:00am, got hot water for my “Taster’s Choice” instant coffee, went for a swim and brushed up on reading for Copan. Rolf up around 9am, to breakfast with Gustavo. Rolf was very anxious about his double hotel booking in San Pedro Sula the following Thursday. Gustavo said he would fix it up for Rolf and make sure that we both stayed at the same hotel that night. We walked around the town, took pictures of the three of us in the town square, went to the bank for some Lempira for tips and also to get $110.00 for a tip to give to Gustavo for 10 + great days of driving and guiding. 17.5 Lempira = $1.00 At Gustavo’s suggestion, he drove us up to Macaw Mountain Bird Sanctuary. Although this visit was not on our itinerary, it was a wonderful experience. This sanctuary is owned be an off shore business man named Lloyd Davidson. He is in the fish export business. We were led up and down a small gorge by “Rossy”, a 29 year old divorcee with three children age 9, 7 & 4. Her parents are divorced also, her mother looks after Rossy’s children while she works. Her dad lives in Miami, her former husband (who she said, pays no child support), lives in San Pedro Sula. Rossy learned English 8 years ago on a scholarship to a university in Athens, Ohio. She had even visited Chicago! Rolf was very sympathetic with her story, Gustavo was not as moved. Like with Henry Flores, the 20-year old waiter at the Jungle Lodge in Tik’al, who learned English at school in Belize, then had to “drop out” due to marriage and a baby. I kept saying “Poor Henry”. Gustavo was adamant in his refusal to feel sorry for either of these kids, saying that they were responsible for the problems they were dealing with. He’s a sensitive man and intelligent too. That evening, we went to dinner with Gustavo. His mood was ebullient-he was back in his own beloved Honduras. During dinner, he developed a severe case of hiccups. Knowing how serious this could be if prolonged I kept trying to help him. Rolf grew ominously silent and when Gustavo left the table, complained that he had not come all this way just to have me pay so much attention to Gustavo. We all walked back to the Marina Copan in silence. May 4, 2004 – Tuesday Called Chris on his cell phone – it was so wonderful to hear his cheerful voice. Went to breakfast, very awkward from then on between Rolf and Gustavo and me. Sad for me, as I no longer felt free to ask him all the questions that I had about this last Maya site. The end of “Just One of Those Things”. The day was overcast and this did not improve Rolf’s mood as he wanted to sunbathe. Anyway, I encouraged Rolf to expand on his former Central American adventures: In 1969, a year after Rolf married his second wife, Moira, he was financed by Monsignor Gerard Guzakowski of Manistee, Michigan, who had a Catholic corporation called “Cine-Cath. Rolf was to direct and produce a short film called “Lazarillo”, which he had written himself. The theme of this movie was “Christ is in all of Us”. (What I remember of this film is a scene in a slaughter house). On the way to San Jose in Costa Rica where the filming was to take place, they were “impounded” at the airport in San Salvador. It was a frightening experience for them all-to be held at gun point by stern faced youths with sub machine guns-for what reason??? Anyway, they filmed some scenes in the village of Oroso or Carthage, then in a cloud covered forest on the Panama Highway called San Ysidro. In 1975, Rolf flew down to Nicaragua to film for an evangelical fundamentalist by the name of Luis Palau (his father was Basque, his mother English). The project was paid for by Fred Roberts with money from Luis Palau’s Evangelical Corporation. The movie that he made, “Cruzada” has not been transferred to video. Samosa was still in power at the time, he ruled the country with the opiates: “pornography and evangelism”. Samosa was ousted by the Carter administration in 1977 and was later assassinated in Peru. The earthquake that had devastated Managua in 1973 was still in strong evidence with streets torn up and crumbled buildings. With all his talents and knowledge, quite an ambitious and energetic man! Rolf began an unending complaint about the tips in lempira at the end of every meal which were expected on top of the local tax and the 10% service charge on the actual bill (this 10% was supposed to be divided between the entire staff). We drove over to the ruins and toured the Gran Plaza with its magnificently carved and preserved stelae. They were carved from greenish volcanic tuff (rock composed of compressed volcanic ash) and the detail was better than any previous sites. The limestone (sedimentary rock containing mostly calcium carbonate) used at Chich’en Itza and the sandstone (another sedimentary rock formed by the compaction of sand with a natural cement such as silica), used at Quirigua, are not as hard and hence suffered greater erosion over the centuries. There were many stela in this courtyard carved to commemorate “18 Rabbit”, who is known as the 13th ruler of Copan from 695 A.D. to 738 A.D. His name was Waxaklahun Ubah K’awil K’ak’Hoplah Chan K’awil, or, short for “Smoke Monkey”. Although he ruled for many years and his portrait, on the many stela, show the image of a young man to an old man with a “beard”, he met with an unfortunate end. Records indicate that he was captured and beheaded by rebels from Quirigua. He was succeeded by his son “Smoke Shell” who ruled from 749 A.D. to 763 A.D. The dates of rulers terminated in 822 A.D. We walked the length of the ball court, and admired the macaws posted on the walls. We were told that the red heads of the macaw represented the brilliance of the sun. Also recommended was a Ball Game Video by William Lawrence Fash III called “the Lost King of the Maya”. Behind the ball court, we admired the Hieroglyphic Stairway, whose stones were found in extremely jumbled condition. There are 2500 glyphs in this dynastic text on 63 steps. They were assembled under a canopy and had been identified by an artist-archaeologist, Barbara Fash. Gustavo also told us about the development of the Maya glyphs: 1) Pictography – full body representation 2) Iconography – heads only 3) Epigraphy – shows the designs and numbers Example: bones & buns = Palenque Bat=Copan Animal face=Koluk’mul We took a lot of pictures, Rolf with his Pentax, and Gustavo with his digital Sony P52. We had all the pictures developed later at the local photo shop and the digital pictures were certainly outstanding. Rolf’s laryngitis is getting better, but he is still coughing. The lack of clear skies is disappointing to him. My frequent visits to the bano (toilet) are well tolerated. I still eat raw pineapple a couple of times a day! We ended out day at the bar and then on our own patio – with chicken and drinks served by Evelyn May 5, 2004 - Wednesday After some grumbling about the availability of another pass to the ruins, we met Gustavo and David at 9:30am and toured the newly built museum.. The entrance was by tunnel to a mock-up of the Temple Rosalila which was recently discovered under Structure 16 by the Honduran archaeologist, Ricardo Agurcia. Most of the bright red exterior was still in evidence when it was discovered. Surrounding the temple was a 3-story museum. The many artifacts there are too numerous to mention, but the large stone head of a Pawahtun caught my attention. According to very uneven data, the Maya conceived the earth as flat and four cornered, each angle at a cardinal point with a color value: red for east, white for north, black for west, yellow for south and blue-green at the center. This flat earth, sometimes represented as a crocodile was held aloft at the corners by these old men or Pawahtuns. These creation explanations tend to vary. I also learned that frogs were supposed to be sacred as they were harbingers of rain. In the afternoon, we walked up the 62 steps to the South Acropolis. This was the most interesting archeological site since Chich’en Itza. Any carved head with “goggles supposed to represent Teotihuacan influence. It is called Tlaloc sign” was. In the West Court of the South Acropolis stands Altar Q (see Coe, pg. 97) which he states celebrates the life of the 16th King Yax Pasah. It is the key to the dynastic history of Copan. I don’t remember seeing it, perhaps the photos will show it. Anyway, it stands in front of Structure 16 under which the Temple Rosalilo was unearthed. We climbed (Rolf unassisted, not me!) up another lot of steps to the East Court where I took a picture of a partially reconstructed Mat House stood. This was called the “Popal Nah” or Council House. As we stood on a parapet overlooking the Gran Plaza, David (the biologist-pilot who accompanied us, gave me a 1 Lempira bank note with a picture of the Gran Plaza on it. At the south end of the Acropolis, we looked over what is called The Cemetary”, which is actual revealed the foundations of the houses of the elite. We returned to the beautiful Copan Marinas, had several drinks at the bar, returned to our patio and had delicious chicken enchiladas. May 6, 2004, Thursday We left at 10:30am, the end of my Central American vacation. On the drive back to San Pedro Sula, I could barely keep the tears back as I sat in the rear of the Toyota bus (have I already mentioned that it was a 2001 model, using diesel fuel?). The countryside looked more prosperous than that in Mexico or Guatemala with pan tiled roofs on the road side houses. Before saying goodbye to Gustavo (with a brief clasp up to the elbow) and “It’s been a pleasure”, he arranged to have me picked up the following morning by a guy named Elmer (just like his Dad’s name) at 4:30, to catch the 6am flight to El Salvador and Belize City. Rolf and I had our usual time together at the Intercontinental Hotel, after a swim and a disagreeable dinner (I banged the table and left while Rolf and the waiter haggled over a receipt for the visa), we walked around a western style shopping mall and then walked a block or so around the hotel. May 7, 2004 - Friday The airport tax leaving San Pedro Sula was something like $25.00 cash. No problem at customs. Arrived in Belize City, after a 2 hour layover in San Salvador. TACA airlines prompt and on schedule, no one to meet me at the airport, finally had to pay a cab driver $20.00 to drive me to the Radisson Hotel. Nice hotel (except fr the smell of mildew) on the Caribbean, walked to the sea, which I found brown about 3 football fields out to the blue water. No one knows the history of why it is called Fort George Hotel. Walked downtown in the heat – city not pretty. At the bank got $70.00 Belize dollars ($35.00 American). Most of the residents seem to be descendants of former slaves. Currency is 2 Belize Dollars to 1 American dollar. Spoke with Chris that night, he sounded sort of sleepy?? Also spoke with Rolf who had had a disappointing day touring San Pedro Sula– with Gustavo driving and a lady guide from Oxford, Mississippi (Wm. Faulkner’s birthplace). May 8, 2004 – Saturday Left Belize City for the airport with a cab driver named Victor Liela (sp?), a man with tales of marital woes (his story was encouraged by me). Turned out that his first wife just up and left him with a meal prepared and a pile of clean clothes, took everything else. He had been living with a lady magistrate for the past 14 years, who was very smart and now belittled him to the point where the diamond ring that he had bought for her was still in the safe. His limo was well kept, one of two that he owns. Poor guy, started out as a basket ball player and now sulking along at the age of 42 years. The tax at the Belize City airport was $40.00 (American) which fortunately I had. Left at 1:15 pm, layover in Charlotte, North Carolina and home in Chicago at 9:30pm. Met by Christopher. Wonderful to see him again! 2 (Sunday April 18) Driver w/car to Chich’en itza. Hotel in Chich’en Itza Hotel Villa Arquerologica Tel 6-2830 – Yucatecan food, near to ruins. Has Club Med amenities. (See “Mexico” pg. 358) Day 3 (Monday, April 19) See ruins at Chich’en Itza Day 4 (Tuesday, April 20) Transfer by “Tour” car to Uxmal (see sound and light show that night) Day 5 April 20-21) (Tuesday & Wednesday) See the ruins in Uxmal Stay in accommodations there x 2 nights Hotel Hacienda Uxmal Carrtera 261 Km. 80, Tel (9) 24-7142. (See “Mexico” pg. 376) Day #6 (Thursday, April 22) “Tour” car to Palenque Travel time about 5 hours, will probably stop briefly in mid-trip in Campeche. Day 7 & 8 & 9 (Friday, Saturday & Sunday – April 23, 24, 25 spend 3 nights in Chan-Kah Resort Village Day 7 - day of leisure Day 8 & 9 tour ruins of Palenque Day 10 (Monday, April 26) Leave Palenque around 7am in a van and travel in a convoy for about 3 hours (no toilets) to Bonampak’ to see the murals there. Visit the Lacondonian community @ Lacanja, have lunch there. Continue to the Escudo Jaguar (bungalows??) Hotel. Day 11 (Tuesday, April 27) Early morning a 45 minute boat journey to Yaxchilan, navigating through the Usamacinta River. Explore the rain forest and the Chiapas ecosystems. Return to the Escuto Jaguar Bungalows in afternoon for overnight stay. Join “The Grand Maya Tour” (The Maya Traveler.com) phone # 1-800-451 8017 at the Kin Ha. 8-day, 7-night tour of Palenque, Tik”al and Copan. Day #12 (Wednesday, April 28) Early morning, transfer to Bethelon the Guatemalan border. Then on to Flores. Stay at the Peten Esplandido @ 1 Calle 5-01, Santa Elena, Flores. Evening explore the island of Flores. Day # 13 (Thursday, April 29) Explore Tik’al w/emphasis on archeological aspect. Night at the Jungle Lodge Day #14 (Friday, April 30) Explore Tik’al Night at the Jungle Lodge Day # 15 (Saturday, May 1) Early departure to Yaxcha, explore archeological site of Uaxactun, to Flores overnight @ the Peten Esplandido in Flores. Day # 16 (Sunday, May 2) Early morning transfer Visit the archeological site of Quirigua. See a Banana Plantation. To Hotel Copan Marinas. To be joined by Rolf Forsberg Telephone @ 504 651 4070 Day # 17 (Monday, May 3) Walking site lecture to the Copan Archeological Site & Museum. Night at the Marina Copan. Day # 18 (Tuesday, May 4) Visit the ruins at Copan. Night @ the Marina Copan Day # 19 (Wednesday, May 5) Visit the ruins at Copan. Night @ the Marina Copan. Day # 20 (Thursday, May 6) Transfer to San Pedro Sula. Night at the Hotel Real Intercontinental. Day # 21 (Friday, May 7) Flight on Taco Airlines to Belize City w/ transport to the airport. Night @ the Radisson Fort George Hotel w/transport from airport to this hotel. Day 22 (Saturday, May 8) In Belize City @ the Fort George Hotel W/transfer to airport provided to the airport: U.S. Air on Flight # 1140 @ 1:15 pm, Charlotte @ 6:30, back to Chicago on Flight # 347 @ 8:20pm, arrive back in Chicago @ 9:34pm Confirmation # IMDSQE
posted by Dorothy Till at 1:59 PM 4 comments

Spanish Travels
PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE MY OWN OBSERVATIONS AND INFORMATION GLEANED FROM READINGS FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES. Here goes my Spanish diary from June 24th to July 28th, 2002...........Flew to Madrid, took a train to Salamanca, then through Medina del Campo to Santiago de Compestela. Flew to Bilboa, drove to Santillana del Mar, back to Bilboa, Guernika and San Sebastian to Pamplona for the bullfights. Train to Barcelona and Valencia, drove to Granada. Took a train to Malaga and Cadiz, then drove to Seville via Jerez, Huelva and Palos de la Frontera - to see where Christopher Columbus launched his first expedition from. Train from Seville to Cordoba, then to Toledo and back to Madrid. JUNE 24 - MONDAY At O'Hare Airport, bought 500 Euros for $545 on my credit card at the currency exchange @ K-11. Security check took about an hour and was very thorough but they did not take my nail clippers or tiny sewing scissors. Spoke with Chris in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It's so difficult not to hover and give him advice - on saving his money, his career and on his relationships with girls. IBERIA flight # 6274 left @ 4:40 pm and my seatmate was a Dominican nun who was on a European tour with about 20 other elderly nuns from all over the U.S.A. We exchanged histories - she was going to be 69 and I am going to be 70 in 6 more months. She was a real people helper - even tried to help me with my pillow and blanket! Her name was Sister Maria Goretti Beckman, 1816 Third St., Bay City, Michigan 48708, telephone # (989) 893-7226 and her e-mail address was: SMGBECKMAN@aol.com. Airfare cost: $1109.99 JUNE 25 - TUESDAY MADRID HOTEL AROSA -prepaid per voucher: $67.00/night - actual bill $150.94. All dollar amounts are computed with the original price of room per day x the euro exchange (which was not in favor of the American dollar) x 7% Value Added Tax (hotel and food costs are non-refundable items).My single room was clean, quiet, no atmosphere. The hotel is centrally located close to the Gran Via, a main street. Arrived in Madrid @ 7:45am, which was actually around 2:45 am Chicago time. Taxi from Madrid Airport to HOTEL AROSA @ 19 Salud was 18.5 euros. I had slept some on the flight over but still slept from 9am to 1pm. Got up and walked to the PRADO in 38 degree Celcius - twenty minutes more than the 20 the hotel clerk told me it would take. Carefully, followed the city guide, with my compass all the way to the PRADO. Up a lot of steps to the entrance, paid 7 euros - if I'd had had any I.D. - pensioners get in free. Didn't get a guidebook (plano) at the entrance so had some difficulty finding what Michener recommended in his Iberia. Found the Diego de Velazquez (Vel-ath-qweth) (1599-1660 born in Seville, died in Madrid) in room XII. Touched by the group portrayal of Felipe IV's family with the Princess Margarita as the star. He certainly captured her charm. She became he Empress of Austria and died at the age of 22. The Hapsburg chin was fascinating to me as Speed Olafson (who died in March 1994 of lung cancer) claimed that he had a Hapsburg lip - and he did! But how did this Saskatchewan boy, bright and all as he was - know this?? Of the three Spanish painters that I saw that day, Francisco de Goya (1746 - 1828 b. in Fuendoetodos, d. in Bordeaux) was a surprise - from his cartoon-like picnic scenes to his Maja desnuda to his black scenes. Missed his Third of May 1808 painting of the Napoleonic soldiers shooting the Madrilenos for revolting against French rule - will see it on my return to Madrid on July 25th - also Saturn Devouring One of his Sons. El Greco "Domenikos Theotocpoulos" (1541-1614 b.in Crete, d. in Toledo) was somber and v. powerful esp. with his views from the bottom up. Got tired after 3 hours of trouping up and down the stairs looking for paintings (unnecessary if I'd gotten a plano) - and my Spanish which is truly un poco and pronunciation even worse didn't help when I asked for directions. Wanted to see Picasso's Guernica before seeing the town, but had a terrible time finding the Queen Sofia Modern Art Museum. According to the city map, it had a glass elevator on either side of the entrance to the converted hospital. When I finally found it facing a courtyard, it was closed for the day. Had a small lunch at a sidewalk cafe for 7 E, walked back to the hotel @ 5 pm in 38 degree Celsius heat, ate some bread and cheese with beer, called Hilary and got the great news that Marilyn will join me in Bilbao. Also s/w Rolf - he reviewed his daily exercises and confirmed that he would be meeting me in Barcelona on July 9th. He's going to Lisbon first on business - Annette DaPonte just called him and told him that she would not be there to show him around. When I come back to Madrid on July 25th I want to (1) take a bus tour of the city (2) see the Archeological Museum, (3) visit the Museum of the Americas and (4) see el Escorial. JUNE 26 – ON the TRAIN to SALAMANCA (28 degrees Celsius) By 11am, I was speeding along on an electric train out of Chamartin (Cha-mar-teen) RR station out of Madrid for Salamanca. New suburban houses look good with brick walls and pan tile roofs. Countryside parched. Passed by Avila with its preserved Roman walls built in the 11th century - which makes them 1200 years old! This is where St. Theresa (1515-1582) came from - she founded the Barefoot Carmelites in 1562. Noted large fields of ripe barley, some of which had already been combined. I was impressed by the big, modern, combines being used. JUNE 26 - SALAMANCA - PARADOR x 2 days @ $100.54 = $201.08 x 1.02 = $202.10 x 7% = $216.25. Spent $261.24. This modern parador was built about 20 years ago on a hillside overlooking the city of Salamanca. Beautiful gardens and a swimming pool. After arriving at the Parador, went swimming, had a long read from Michener's Iberia ( thankyou, thank you Gretchen), dinner at 8:30 on the patio - listened to young band play 12th St. Rag and When the Saint's go Marching In. Gave them 10 euros and to bed by 10:30. JULY 27 - THURSDAY - DIARY in SALAMANCA Slept until 8:30 and woke up refreshed. From my private balcony, I look down on the entire city which is dominated by the Cathedral Viega (built 1100 A.D. - late Romanesque) and the Catedral Neuva (built 1509-1734 - late Gothic & Plateresque). All buildings are no more than 3 stories high so these architectural delights stand out. Between the Parador and the city was a Roman bridge, built in the 1st century A.D., which spanned the Rio Tormes. I walked across its remaining 15 (of its 26) arches on a 20 -minute walk to the city. I AM ENJOYING MY FREEDOM - no one to have to talk to, no one to have to listen to! The city is a gem of an old city - clean and all golden stone. It certainly deserves its 2002 designation of a "European Cultural City". I loved the University - the oldest in the Peninsula - founded about 1230, soon after 1550 declined. Here in the University courtyard, stood a statue of Fray Luis de Leon who, in 1572, at one of the heights of the Inquisition, was imprisoned because he was half Jewish. He had been a leading theologian and humanist. SALAMANCA – population 154,000 in 1989 Like all European cities, Salamanca's old city is beautiful with its narrow winding streets and cloisters, but has spilled over into modern glass, stucco, steel and plastic buildings - which has been great for labor unions but to the detriment of architecture. The city of SALAMANCA was important as early as 222 B.C. when captured by Hannibal, then came the Romans, the Goths and the Moors who were driven out about 1055 A.D. The Plaza Mayor in the old city center was constructed in the early 1700's to hold 20,000 people for bullfights. It is touted to be one of the finest in Europe. It is surrounded by 90 arches on Corinthian columns and the facades are decorated in the Renaissance style, the whole being a fine example of the Plateresque style. The economy of this city was largely dependent upon students and, now, of course tourism BACK to the DIARY Before dinner at 8:30, went swimming again and recorded Eduardo, the pool "boy". At dinner, asked for something local and was presented with a plate of six different slices of salty ham and 4 slices of cheese (also v.salty)!! Ugh. SALAMANCA-JUNE 28-FRIDAY - Left SALAMANCA by train for SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA Slept in Salamanca until 8am, taxi to Estacion 5 euros. The train was due to leave @ 1:55pm for Medina del Campo, arrival time 2:57, then a TALGO train @4:11 to arrive in Santiago de Compostela @ 9:19pm. Bought 3 postcards and 10 stamps in the RR station (75 E to the U.S.A.) then had a deuce of a time trying to make myself understood: 'Where is the post box?? Finally a young man who could speak a little English and a lot of Spanish came to my rescue and asked the information desk where it was. Found it down the street a block away. Train on time to Medina del Campo, then a wait for the TALGO train to Santiago. About 1/3 of the way from Medina to Santiago, we passed through the town of OURENSE, (from the 1996 Eyewitness Travel Guide to Spain) which was built around thermal springs. "Even today, 3 fountains spout water at 150 degrees F". Pretty amazing!! There must be some underground activity in these parts. Despite a call to the hostel desk, which advised me that a walk from the station to the hostel would only take 20 minutes, took a cab as the suitcase and backpack were too heavy to lug up a long, long hill. Got in around 9 pm. JUNE 28 - FRIDAY PARADOR - HOSTEL DOS REYES CATOLICAS x 3 days @ $141.41/day = $424.23 x 1.016 = $431.10 x 7% = $461.27. Spent $536.94. This Parador was built in the 1500’s by the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to house the pilgrims who came to Santiago. It has been beautifully restored with patios around fountains in the inner courtyards, but is not as sumptuous as many of the newer ones (no gardens, no swimming pool) but has a great outdoor dining cafeteria which serves the best Galician food. JUNE 29 - SATURDAY Had trouble sleeping, got up at 10:30. After breakfast in the cafeteria, went out to the Praza do Obradoiro and heard bagpipes. I had been preconditioned to this northwest corner of Spain called Galicia by Rolf's friend, Michelle Murphy and by reading Michener's account of the Road to Santiago. According to Michelle, Galicians were Celtic, many were blue eyed and they played the bagpipes. So, I found two dark-haired, brown- eyed young men playing the pipes and a "tambourine". They were kind enough to record their native tongue for me, which is Gallegos. I wandered into the Romanesque Cathedral, which was right off the same square as the Hostel. They were celebrating the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. A nun sang a Spanish song "Pescador de Hombres" by Cesareo Gabarain. It was truly enchanting - I learned all these details from a young guy from Indiana who sat next to me at the internet cafe who had just made a 37 day pilgrimage along the French Route to Santiago de Compostela. Then at the end of the mass, eight men hoisted a 3 ft. censor up and by a means of pulleys and stout ropes swung the incense-spewing censor back and forth up to the 90' transept. The apse was gilded with all sorts of knights and horses and saints that I could not identify. GALICIA Gallegos, (Spanish for Galician), is what the Spanish dialect is called in this region. It is closer to Portuguese in its pronunciation, with a “shh” sound for the "s's. Its roots are in the 2nd branch of Latin in Spain, with Gallegos the language of the old kingdom of Galicia - with Portuguese having gone on progressing. This northwestern section of Spain and Portugal, prior to the death in 1109 of Alfonso VI, was part of the province of Castile y Leon. When this monarch died, he left the northern section to his daughter, Princess Dona Urraca and the southern part of Castile y Leon to his other daughter, the Princess Dona Teresa. Teresa married the ambitious count Henry of Burgundy and by 1279, the kingdom of Portugal was established. Galicians retain many traces of the people who have passed through their domain. Pre-1000 B.C. - Indigenous Iberians? 1000 B.C. - Celts - who like the Bretons, Irish, Welsh and Scots play the gaitas (bagpipes) and share a passion for poetry and music and also a melancholic and pessimistic view of life. 137 B.C.-500-A.D.-Roman occupation who called the Celtic natives, Gallaeci. 500-A.D.-Suebi-or-Swedes-(Visigoths)-from-northern-Europe. 600 A.D. - 1100 A.D. ruled by Asturian or Castile y Leon monarchs. Francisco Franco was born at El Ferral in Galicia. The fortunes of Galicia were in mining and agriculture but the fame of Santiago de Compostela (to briefly paraphrase James Michener's "Iberia") rests on tradition, legend and fact. According to tradition, St. James the Apostle, (in The Book of Acts) traveled to Spain where he managed to convert 9 Iberians to Christianity. Legend has it that following his martyrdom by decapitation in Jerusalem and subsequent burial in Cesarea, the Apostle was mysteriously disinterred with with his head intact. He was placed in a stone barge and transported to Padron, a seaside port close to Santiago. A converted pagan queen allowed the remains to be buried in an old Roman cemetery nearby, around 44 A.D. Nearly 800 years later, just when the Christian forces in Galicia were mounting an offensive against the conquering Moors, a shepherd noted a light in a meadow. Excavation revealed St. James on a white horse. This became a rallying symbol of Christian resistance to the Moorish Muslims show of force who displayed the mummified arm of Mohammed the prophet to encourage their warriors. In 1078, the present Cathedral was commenced (consecrated in 1212) over the supposed remains of St. James and Santiago de Compostela became the focal point for pilgrims from all over Europe. The route, known on modern Spanish maps as "The French Road" or "The Way of St. James", has been for centuries and still is, traversed by Catholic pilgrims. The pilgrims are featured in "Canterbury Tales" and they still carry the customary staff, with a gourd and scallop shell. Jame's and his brother John's relationship to Jesus is mentioned in Mark 15: 40 and Matthew 27:56. Zebedee was their father. Salome was possibly their mother. Further research in the Encyclopedia Britannica revealed that John the Baptist's mother Elizabeth was "related to Mary, mother of Jesus". His father was Zacharias. MY QUESTION IS: WHY HAS NO ONE TAKEN AN INTEREST IN DOING ANY GENEOLOGICAL SURVEY ON THESE THREE REMARKABLE WOMEN - MARY, SALOME AND ELIZABETH?? Santiago de Compostela is the third most visited Christian shrine, after Rome and Jerusalem. Another find in Galicia (thanks again to James Michener) was that of Rosalia de Castro. In vain I tried to find an English translation of her poetry in Santiago. She was born in 1837 (died in 1885), to an unwed mother of a prominent family of the region. An ordained priest was her father. She was to all accounts a heavy, awkward girl who married a dwarf and had 6 children. They had an unhappy life together, but she sublimated her unhappiness in her poetry. My favorite is: Dig it with all speed, dig it, Thought, you gigantic digger. Dig a very deep hole, where we can bury Remembrance of what's lost. JUNE 30 - SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA - SUNDAY Up at 10am - another poor sleep. Took a hot bath, had breakfast, back to bed 'til 2pm, walked to an ordinary street north of the old city - wanted to get away from crowds. Took pictures of an ordinary street with ordinary people - who are born, live and die without producing anything memorable. Back to bed at 4pm, slept until 6am. What's going on here? Jet lag or am I just missing my hot milk and Melatonin at bedtime? Just learned that the metal bandstand being constructed in the Praza is hosting a week-long musical event beginning tomorrow and that Monserrat Caballe, my all time favorite soprano, is the guest the first night. And I will have to miss it! Had a couple of yummy meals in their outdoor cafeteria: 2pm lunch consisted of clam tapas (mejillones in escabeche ceasaro) 8pm – beef sandwich (pepito de Ternero Gallegos) .The temperature was windy and chilly. JULY 1 - MONDAY - FLYING from SANTIAGO to BILBAO to meet MARILYN and DRIVE to SANTILLANA del MAR A better night. Up at 6 am to catch the flight to Bilbao from Lavacolla airport (15 minutes from the Hostel, cost 15 E). Took photos of the small stone fenced Galician farms known as minifundio. Through inheritance from father to all his sons, the land becomes broken up into small farms, which mitigates against industrial-type farming. Also got a view of the Picos de Europe, a tall mountain range a few miles inland from the Atlantic, which stretches from Cantabria through Asturias. Even got a picture of Bilbao straddling the Rio Nervion. IBERIA FLIGHT #8353 cost $201.90 was very brief from 9:05 - 10:15am. Met by my sister, Marilyn, just as planned. What a ray of sunshine - there she was, having taken the train from Amsterdam, looking well rested, carrying a huge backpack like a bricklayer. She stayed at youth hostels all the way. No problem picking up the rental car - the voucher from Thor worked perfectly. The car was a new Mercedes-Benz. Marilyn navigated me out of Bilbao, from their new airport, past Santander all the way to Santillana del Mar. Beautiful roads. As we drove through green, hilly and prosperous dairy farmland, Marilyn reminisced about her years on the dairy farm at Milabeena in Tasmania. JULY 1 - MONDAY - CONTINUED - SANTILLANA del MAR & GIL BLAS PARADOR x 3 days - per day = $113.81 x 3 = $341.43 x 1.01 = $344.84 x 7% = $368.98. spent $510.35. Settled into the Gil Blas Parador which was begun in the 1400's. It was situated in the center of town in the former Barreda-Bracho mansion. According to an ad for the Parador, in the 17th and 18th century, the mansion was closely linked to arts and literature. Its great protector, Count Guel (with a double dot over the "u"), restored the building in the 20's and it became the center of the most important cultural events in Cantabria. The name Gil Blas is taken from a 17th century novel by a Frenchman, Mastiff Renato LeSage. It was apparently wildly popular and the fictional hero was Gil Blas de Santillana. SANTILLANA del MAR Prior to the public opening of the Altamira Caves in the 1960's, this was a fine, ancient village dating from the 800's. Built at a crossroads about 2 kms. from the Rio Saja, today it lies about 2 miles south of the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic Ocean. After a tasty lunch on their patio and a lovely dinner in their dining room to music of Mozart, Marilyn and I walked the 2 kms. up the hill to Altamira Museum. The green hillsides were doted with farmyards - all with white walls and pan tile roofs. JULY 2 - TUESDAY - SANTILLANA del MAR Up at 7am to buy tickets at the Banco @ 8:30 for the New Caves at Altamira - 2 tickets for under 5 Euros, but no English spoken by the clerks. At noon, we walked up to the top of the hill to the north of the village to view the Bay of Biscay. Ate our breakfast oranges, up from a garbage dump - Marilyn was offended by the odor. Later in the afternoon, after walking along the narrow winding streets and admiring the shields on the various houses, we stopped to look into the 12th century Romanesque Collegiate Church at the bottom of the hill. Entry cost us 2 1/2 Euros each. Here we learned that Santillana is a corruption of Santa Juliana, a 4th century Christian who was martyred in defense of her virginity and her faith. The church is supposed to contain her tomb. She was responsible for early pilgrimages to the area. Marilyn and I both found the interior composed and we rested in the nave, each thinking our own private thoughts. The walls and ceiling were unadorned stone, which was such a relief from the Baroque interference one encounters in later Catholic churches. We also found the cloisters attractive. Every other column was graced with vines (due to a 12th century Cistercian Order reform which prohibited the representation of human forms on pillars), the others had Biblical episodes. We took a photo of one with Daniel in Lion's Den in honor of Marilyn's second eldest son. In the evening, Marilyn called Ted at their caravan in Steenwijk (Holland). He was not feeling well and the weather there was rainy and cold. JULY 3 - WEDNESDAY - ALTAMIRA The Altamira Museum is on a hill 2 kms. from the village of Santillana del Mar. There was no bus to reach it, so Marilyn and I drove our rented car up to the site. As viewers to the prehistoric cave are restricted to 8,500 people per year and tickets have a 2 - 5 year waiting list, we had to be satisfied with the Neocave. The Neocave, which opened on July 17th, 2001, is located 300 meters from the original. It had been created under the auspices of the National Geographic Society in conjunction with the European Union and the town council of Santillana del Mar. The colors, texture and variations in pigment of the bison they painted have been reproduced on styrofoam down to the last millimeter. Much to our surprise, we were genuinely moved by the display. The cave painter(s), whom archeologists believe came from East Africa eons ago, etched white outlines on the limestone ceiling and colored the animals with local ochre. They used charcoal from their fires for shading and emphasis. We had not expected such delicacy of feeling for the bison they portrayed. They even used the curves, indentations and swellings on the ceiling to enhance the painting with a third dimensional feeling. What possessed these unknown artists, crouching beneath a ceiling too low for them to stand, to etch and paint these primitive masterpieces? No one knows. We learned that Pablo Picasso said that after Altamira, art went downhill. The cave first came to the attention of a wealthy landowner, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, who was also an amateur archeologist. One of his sharecroppers, Modesto Cobillas, had discovered the cave in 1876. It was Sautuola's daughter, Maria, who first came across the paintings. Thus began a two-decade controversy trying to authenticate not only the age of the paintings (which has been established as 14,500 years of age) but also the origin of the artists. The claim of the Creationists that the earth began about 6000 B.C. was pitted against the Evolutionary theory proposed by Charles Darwin in his "Origin of the Species" published in 1859. In 1880, Sautuola's claims received scientific attention and doubts were expressed. It was not until 1902 that his claim was vindicated at last, (posthumously) by Emile Caraihac, a renowned figure in pre-history. Marilyn and I were much impressed and we fully intend to return (hopefully with Rolf Forsberg) to Santillana del Mar when we are assured of tickets to the real cave. After the Neocave Tour, we went the adjacent Museum. Marilyn noted that as cavemen came to live longer lives that their accumulated knowledge was able to benefit succeeding generations. This gave rise to the elderly sage. But the clan's wise men have long since been superseded by mass communication, beginning with Gutenbergs's printing press invented around 1466. In the afternoon, we drove over to Comillas, a resort town about 10 miles up the coast of the Bay of Biscay. It was cold and windy so we did not go swimming as originally intended, but went wading in the turbulent surf. Marilyn commented that Luke and Michelle would probably do well on their surfboards here. When we got back to the Parador, we spoke with the man at the desk about pronunciation. He told us first of all that, "We Spaniards are not afraid of cold water, as soon as spring comes, we go swimming." He also explained that Comillas was pronounced, "Co-mee-shus" and that the letter "y" was pronounced like a "zhu". For example, he said, I was a "zhung-kee" (for yankee), which made Marilyn laugh. JULY 4 - THURSDAY - to BILBAO to the HOTEL INDAUTXU - one night = $56.00 x 1.01 = $56.56 x 7% = $60.52. Spent $62.59 Marilyn again navigated us from Santillana del Mar to Bilbao and to the Hotel, which was no mean feat with all the one-way streets and the sub-basement parking lot. She never once complained of my driving! We checked in about 1:30pm and proceeded to walk down to the Guggenheim Museum. On the way, I FINALLY BOUGHT MY BLACK BOINA!! (and for only 17 Euros). At the Museum, we rented audio phones, which were a great help. They not only described the construction and layout of the Museum, but when we got to the main gallery, all you had to do was press a series of buttons that corresponded with a painting and you got not only a bio of the artist, but also a history of the politics of the time. This main gallery had a series of paintings from Paris from 1900-1968 and included all the famous artists. The modern art display on the first floor in the fish-shaped gallery we found a little less to our liking. There was a huge 3-igloo construction called "Unreal City" which consisted of glass, mirrors, metal pipes, twigs, rubber, clay and clamps. Then there was a series of tall, wavy, rusty-looking walls which were supposed to be verry arty. Also arranged on the wall, were huge, separate stacks of what looked like beer kegs, tied in the middle - to represent what?? Rolf called in the evening. That evening, we ate in the dining room. I had a local dish, which consisted of cod fish in three sauces. I decided that I don't really care for cod. BILBAO Bilbao, a combination of two old English words, bilbo (cutlass) and bilboes (iron fetters), is a name which testifies to its early fame as an iron working town. In 1870, iron ore was discovered in the area. Due to its navigable position on the Rio Nervion, it developed strong commercial ties to England and Flanders. Its present population, of around 400,000, no longer depends on this industry. A big financial investment in the arts has put Bilbao back on the map. Though their Bellas Artes Museum displays paintings by Goya, Zubaran, Velasquez and El Greco, it is the Bilbao Guggenheim, which opened in October of 1997, which has caught the attention of the art world. Within easy walking distance from the old town, this magnificent pale gold, titanium shingled, modern museum structure towers over the west bank of the Nervion. Being the capital of Vizcaya, one of the Basque countries three autonomous provinces, has not made for an easy history. Founded in 1300 by Diego Lopez de Haro, it withstood the Napoleonic wars of 1808 and then a succession of Carlist wars, and finally the Civil War of 1936-1939 when it held firm against Franco's Nationalists for two years. It was heavily bombarded in 1937 and nearly destroyed. JULY 5 - FRIDAY - BILBAO via the COAST to GERNIKA and SAN SEBASTIAN Leaving Bilbao involved retrieving the rented car from the underground parking lot. Armed with directions from the hotel clerk, we set out for Gernika and San Sebastian. We drove northeast along the rugged coastline, stopping occasionally for a bite to eat and to enjoy the sights of towns clinging to the seashore. The drive reminded me of highway #1 along Big Sur in California. We met several big trucks loaded with huge, freshly cut logs. Finally, in mid day, we saw a sign to Gernika-Loma. We drove down to the plains below and there was the city, famous for the bombing that it underwent during the Spanish Civil War. It was about 2pm when we arrived and the town was very quiet as most of Spain is during this siesta time. We stopped at a restaurant near the outskirts and enjoyed some anchovies and spoke with a girl called Caroline. She had emigrated from Moldavia, and spoke not only English, but also Spanish, Italian and her native tongue. I recorded a lady in the restaurant who spoke Eskadi. We drove to the center of town, hoping to get into the Basque museum but it was closed for renovation. We met an older, Basque-looking man who told us that he would introduce us to a lady friend of his who was teaching at the Cultural Center. It was just up the hill, but after waiting for about an hour, we decided to hike up to the top of the hill to view the ancient oak tree that was so precious to the Basques. When we got there, we met a family from Warsaw. The father spoke English and told us that the area behind an iron fence, which contained the Parliament Building and the Oak tree, would not open until 4pm. So, I took some pictures through the iron fence and we left. Gernika (in Eskara) currently has a population of around 15,600. According to a map and our observations, the town was divided by RR tracks into an industrial section and a business-market-residential section. We were told that they made cutlery here. The city was founded on April 16, 1366 by Count Don Tello. It began as a cross roads between Bermeo, Durango and Bilboa. WHAT WE DID NOT KNOW, WE DID NOT LOOK FOR. THE BASQUE PEOPLE Euskadi or Eusaterria is the country of the Basque people and they are a linguistic and social group rather than a racial one. They are identified by a geographical location in the northeast corner of Spain (and by the French Basque country in south-east France), by a unique language variously called Eskara, Euskuara and Uskara, and by a social system that pre-dates the Middle Ages. Their boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Pyrenees to the east, on the west by the Rio Ebro (whose source is the Cantabrian Mountains) and to the south by the Rio Aragon, which rises in the Pyrenees. Their wedge-shaped mass occupies three provinces: Vizcaya (Bilboa and Gernika), Guipuzcoa (San Sebastian) and Alava (Vitoria-Gasteiz). Also included in the land of the Basque is northern Navarra (English - Navarre), whose capital is Pamplona. Eskerda (that is the way it sounds) is still spoken and written by the Basque people today. It is a language, probably very ancient, that is highly interesting and stands as yet absolutely isolated from any other Indo-European tongue. The Basque population now accounts for about 2% of that of Spain. Anthropologists believe they could be descended from Cro-Magnon people who settled in the area 40,000 years ago. Long isolated in their mountain valleys, they have always been energetic in preserving their independence, along with their customs and fueros (code of law). They call themselves Eskunldunski (those who speak Eskadi). Their universal democratic elections go back before the 1500's, their embrace of Habeas Corpus, the prohibition of torture and the Hidalgo Universal (abolition of vassalage) , were in place long before being adopted by other European institutions. Bilbao, with its prehistoric iron deposits, San Sebastian's tourist dollars from its seaside resort, the moist, fertile fields of southern Vizcaya and Alava, plus the wealth from their fisheries along the Atlantic coast have provided them with a rich and steady income over the years. They have retained their dress custom of the black boina (beret) and rope-soled sandals. Basque nationalism has its roots in 1513 when Navarre was invaded by a Castilian monarch - to protest the Moors?? One of the results of the Treaty became the Statutes of Vizcaya, the Statutes in essence the Statutes of Man, which confirmed their traditional rights. These Statutes of Rules of Freedom or Systems of Sovereignty or Autonomy have led the Basques to fight for their rights over the course of history. Their defeats following the Carlist Wars in 1839, in 1849 and in 1875 resulted in the advent of the Law of Abolition of the Statutes proclaimed in 1876. This law brought in compulsory national service in the Spanish army and the payment of taxes. Following the establishment of the Spanish Republic in 1931 which granted autonomy to Catalonia, the Basque movement, inspired by Sabino de Arana y Giori, came into official being to protest these outrages. They began a well-planned campaign for Basque autonomy. A referendum on the Statute held the following year ended in a resounding victory. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was disastrous for the Basques. On April 26th, 1937, as the Nationalists were heading in the direction of northern Spain, 50 German Luftwaffe and Italian bombers, at the apparent invitation of Nationalist leader, General Franco, descended on the small city of Gernika. Gernika was essentially a market town, with one bridge over the Rio Mundaca but more importantly, had an arms factory. The Monday afternoon bombardment turned the sky into a black fog. Those inhabitants not killed by explosive bombs and packets of hand grenades were chased by multitudinous shots expelled from machine guns. Finally, the entire area was saturated with incendiary bombs. The population of 7000 listed 1,654 dead and 889 wounded. This left the way open for the Nationalists to bombard nearby Bilbao which had to surrender the following June. The Nuremberg war crime trials in 1946 revealed that Guernica offered an excellent area for the testing of explosives and incendiary bombs. The interesting thing about the attack is that the bridge, the arms factory and the Gernika Arbol were not damaged. Following the bombing, many Basque citizens sought refuge in friendly countries. The bombing of these civilians was not the worst of the war, but has been immortalized by the Malaga-born artist, Pablo Picasso's painting, "Guernica". He was commissioned by the Republican government of Spain to paint a mural to stand 11' 6" x x 25' 8". It was unveiled at the Paris World Fair in 1937. This huge painting is now on display in the Queen Sofia Modern Art Gallery in Madrid and is accompanied by many small preparatory sketches by the artist. It certainly brought the Spanish Civil War worldwide attention. After the end of WW II, around 1951, the U.S.A. in a cold war tactic against the U.S.S.R., broke the theoretical ban of democratic nations against Franco and lent his government 62.5 million dollars in exchange for the use of land for American air bases in Spain. In 1959, following numerous asides and suppressions by the Franco regime after WW II, the Basque separatist group, the E.T.A. (Eskadi Ta Askatasuna) was formed. Franco's death in 1975 resulted in a relaxation of restrictions. In 1979, the Statute of Gernika was recognized. However, the E.T.A., despite the Basques being given control of their police force, schools and social welfare systems with ample tax revenues ceded by the state (N.Y.T. 08-29-02), continued to harass and murder any opposition, including elected officials, journalists and policemen. They are credited with 800 such killings since 1968 and their admission on April 4, 2002, to these atrocities led to its assets being frozen by the European Union on May 3, 2002. It has been listed as a terrorist group by both the E.U. and the U.S.A. In 1986, a political spin-off from the E.T.A. was formed. To avoid being branded a terrorist organization, it changed its original name of Euskal Herritarrok to Herri Batasuna and finally in 2001 to Batasuna. This organization receives 1.5 million pounds from state funding for salaries for elected officials. Their aim is to hold a referendum to decide on a separate Basque State with Euskara as the language. The Spanish Parliament in August of 2002 voted to suspend this organization as it feels that E.T.A. and Batasuna are one and the same. The government in Madrid feels that its autonomy policies have not worked. In 2001, the party got 142,000 votes or 10% of the total and seven seats in the Basque regional parliamentary elections. In 1998, they got 224,000 more votes or 18% of the total and 14 seats in the Basque regional Parliament. According to the New York times on March 18, 2003, the Supreme Court in Madrid outlawed the Batasuna party, agreeing with the government’s allegation that it forms an integral part of the violent separatist group, the E.T.A. Batasuna may appeal to the Constitutional court, and must do so if it wants to bring the case to the European court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. THE QUESTION IS: WHY DO BASQUE SEPARTISTS WITH THEIR LONG HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY, WHY TODAY, DO THEY WANT TO SEIZE CONTROL BY FORCE? GERNIKA Although both Basque Parliament and government have their official headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz, it acts on powers assigned to it by the Gernika Autonomy Statute. This statute, recovered in 1979 acknowledges in Article 3 that the territories will be able to "conserve, or, if necessary, reestablish and update their particular organization and institutions of self government". This governs the seven territories located in three administrative units: the Basque Autonomous Community, the Autonomous Community of Navarre and Iparrald (on the French side of the Pyrenees). An equal number of representatives (25) are elected every four years by universal suffrage. The Parliament of Biscay is located in Gernika and their headquarters are in the "Casa de Juntas" beside the legendary oak tree where the plenary sessions are held. The Biscayan parliament, whose body is called "Juntas Generals" (general assembly) has a long historic tradition, whose origins date back before the Middle Ages. THE OAK TREE OF GERNIKA or "GERNIKA ARBOL" IS WITHOUT DOUBT THE MOST UNIVERSAL SYMBOL OF THE BASQUE PEOPLE. The old tree, dead and encased in an 8-pillared monument is 2000 years old. The current 300 year-old tree was planted in 1860 and a sapling was transferred in 1979 (it was already 17 years old). The oak tree apparently provided shelter or shade for the early assemblies of the Seigniory of Biscay and has become over time to symbolize the permanence of a nation and its institutions, despite the ups and downs they have experienced over their long history. It currently witnesses the taking possession and swearing into office of the Lehendakari (President of the Basque Community) and of the Disputada General (Prime Minister of the Territory). The protocol for the swearing into office reads: Humbled before God on foot on Basque soil in memory of our ancestors under the tree of Gernika before you representative of the people I swear to faithfully carry out my duties Henry Moore, the famous British sculptor has a monument in the city to commemorate the slaughter called, in Spanish, "Gran Figura en Refugio", in Euskera, "Irudia Aterpe Batean". WHY WERE THEY TARGETED? THE QUESTION MAY BE RHETORICAL. JULY 5 - FRIDAY - CONTINUED - to - SAN SEBASTIAN We left Geurnica and drove back up to the hilly coastline, which we followed as far as Deba. As we were getting close to our destination, we headed back down to the main highway. We entered San Sebastian through a rather shabby boulevard and found our way to the center of the city. Thanks to Marilyn's eagle- eye who spotted the Hotel Orly, we found our way to the hotel and another sub-basement parking lot. JULY 5 - FRIDAY – HOTEL TRYP ORLY – one night = $113.00 x 1.00 = $113.00 x 7% =120.91. Spent $203.40 Though it was overcast, we went swimming at 6:30 in the bay, which was only a block away from the hotel. The water was not too cold and the beach was protected from the Bay of Biscay by an island in the middle of the bay. We ate at the hotel dining room - I had Hake fish, which I did not particularly care for. We then walked on the passeo along the beach front. We went into the fancy Hotel de Londres and had drinks in the lounge before retiring for the night. JULY 6 - SATURDAY We awoke to a drizzle so we did not go for a morning dip but talked of family matters and memories. We got directions from the hotel desk and a good map of how to get to Pamplona. I was surprised at how direct the route now was. A nice, young guy from Cuba helped us down to the sub-basement with our bags. It always helps to have an attractive younger sister along! SAN SEBASTIAN Present population is 173,000 ++. The city's history is obscure but they seemed to have received their fuero in 1180 and the original Basque name was Izurum. It is now Donastia. After the province of Guipuzcoa united with Spain, it became a bulwark against French incursions from the other side of the Pyrenees. Its most disastrous siege was in 1813 when the defeated Spanish General Bey set fire to the city to avoid it being ravaged by the conquering Anglo-Portuguese force under General Graham. To a certain extent it was religious feeling that brought them into the 1839 - 1875 Carlist wars, and it was to protect their fueros that brought them into the Civil War. In 1886, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman, Eugenie de Montijo (who became the Empress of Napoleon III) is credited with setting the style for aristocratic families to summer in San Sebastian. Even Queen Victoria became a guest. By the late 19th century, both Spanish and South American aristocracy made the city their favorite summer watering place. It has lost some of its old glory, but is still a fun place each summer with its Jazz Festival in July, a Classical Music one in August and in September, a world renowned Film Festival. Its early economy was supported by, fishing, soap making, flour, lumber mills and other small industries. Geographically, it is gloriously situated on a sandy, shell-shaped bay called La Concha, and protected from the open sea by the Isla de Ste.Clara. At either end of the bay are tower-topped hills, to the east the Monte Urgull and Monte Iguelfo on the west. The Rio Urumea flows to the east. Wedged between the bay and the Urumea is the old town with its narrow streets and touristy shops. BACK to the DIARY JULY 6 Excellent roads all the way to Pamplona - only made one wrong turn because I hadn't noted the mileage to a turnoff. There was lot of new construction and signs of prosperity along the way. Drove through mountain passes and tunnels down to the plains around Pamplona. Turned the car in at the airport at around 3 pm - had to leave the keys in a slot by the desk as the place was closed for the weekend. Paid $25.00 for 32 gallons of diesel fuel before turning the car in. JULY 6 - SATURDAY - PAMPLONA The HOTEL TRES REYES was about 8 stories high, modern and new with a swimming pool. It was built between the old and new sections of the city in the edge of the Taconera gardens. Two nights @ $362.00 x 2 = 724.00 x 1.02 = 738.48 x 7% = 790.17. Spent $1,009.45 We walked down to the bullring and with Marilyn’s urging, bought 2 tickets to the bullfight the next day for $50.00 each from a scalper. He told us that they were prime tickets in the shade but I wondered if we were being taken. Met a guy from North Carolina at the desk who suggested we go early to the end of the bull run to get a seat on the barricade the following morning. JULY 7 – SUNDAY – SAN FERMIN DAY IN PAMPLONA Got up at 5 am, to the barricades by 6 am, found the area already jam-packed. Pamplona during San Fermin week is crowded beyond belief with people, all dressed in red and white, drunk out of their minds, singing and making noise all night long. Marilyn went back to the hotel at 7 due to pain in her legs from standing (varicose veins), she never complains. I waited until 8, but could see nothing of the bulls as they came charging down the narrow street with the runners behind them. The runners can protect themselves only with a rolled up newspaper! The street was the Calle de la Estafeta and ended just before the bull ring itself. The whole spectacle was well supervised by the “garden police” (my name as they were dressed in green). Went back to the hotel and slept from 9 – 11:30, got up and bought a scarlet sash and neckerchief for a total of 4 + 2 Euros. Everywhere people were wearing red and white. Down to the bull ring at 6:30 for the bullfight. Impressive sight - picadors, banderilleros and matadors. Each killing took about 20 minutes. I watched the entire drama through binoculars. Compared notes with Marilyn re: the butchering of farm animals that we had witnessed with the killing of the bulls – this method seemed more brutal – because of the teasing??? Saw a lot of marijuana and Che Guevara posters. At Marilyn’s suggestion again, we found the old wall of Pamplona that was built by the Romans. We climbed up and looked down at the new city and had our pictures taken with two students who guide for the summer. We walked past the old cathedral on our way back down to the old city. At dinner that night, the head waitress would not allow me to take my extra roll out of the cafeteria. PAMPLONA This city has been the capital of Navarre since the 900’s, and is perched on the banks of the Rio Arga, a tributary of the Ebro. It is in the center of a broad valley amongst the Pyrenees. Its present population is 183,000 ++ and has increased by a factor of 4 in the last 70 years. Its history is very interesting. Originally a city of the Viscones, it was rebuilt by the Roman General Pompey in 68 B.C. Some archeological remains are still in existence of the Roman town. It was occupied by Euric, the Goth in 466 and by the Franks under Childebert in 542. It was then, held by the Moors for 10 years from 738 to 748, when it was captured by Count Garcia Iniguez. Charlemagne, who had apparently been called in to settle a dispute between two Moorish factions in 778 B.C., sacked the city as payment for his services. When Charlemagne retreated through the pass at Roncevalles, he was ambushed by the Basques who killed Roland, later to be immortalized in the “Chanson de Roland’. Following the death of King Sancho VII in 1035, the kingdom initiated the fueros system or guarantee by which towns and cities would enjoy certain autonomy and customary laws. The fuero general written in the 1200’s applied to Navarre as a whole and is similar to the Magna Carta (in England in 1213) and contains 508 chapters. Then, beginning in the 1200’s, Navarre was ruled by a series of French dynasties. Due to weak rulers, the Black Death in 1348, loss of Jewish commercial class from pogroms and their geographic location between France and Castile, the Duke of Alba seized the kingdom in 1512 for King Ferdinand of Castile. Because of the fueros, the monarchs in Madrid were obliged to uphold these laws until the rise of the Bourbons in the 1700’s. Until then, Navarre had been incorporated in the Castilian Crown, which made Navarre very pro-monarch and liberal ideas were not well received. In 1813, it was taken by Wellington from the French. When King Ferdinand VII died in 1833, there was some question about who would succeed him: his infant daughter Isabella or his brother, Carlos. Navarre, hoping that a strong ruler like Carlos would restore its tradition of: “God, Fatherland and King”, opted to back him. Their northern Catholic religion was also in the forefront. The last Carlist War ended in 1876. The Carlists resurfaced in 1936 when they actively backed Franco. Six thousand Carlist “requetes in red boinas or berets” rose to support General Mola. Franco himself credited Navarre as being the “cradle of the Nationalist movement”. This position set Navarre off from the rest of the Basque provinces who threw in their lot with the Republicans. The centuries old “Navarismo” of the more conservative sections of Navarre have impeded unity. Following the death of Franco, the Basques drawing up their region’s Statute of Autonomy tried to incorporate the people of Navarre into their project, but failed. Today the conservative, hard working Navarrese have transformed the ancient citadel into a modern industrial city. High-rise apartment blocks, manicured boulevards and factories form a protective and often ugly ring around the lovely old city. From the old city walls (murallas), you can look down and get a good overview of the new city of Pamplona, which is laid out in modern avenues and streets in a grid pattern. The cathedral, which is close by, is built of ochre colored stone. It was built on the foundations of a 12th century predecessor and is mainly Gothic in style. It has twin towers and an 18th century façade. The city was immortalized by Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises”. There is a bust of this American author close to the bullring – but that is the only tribute to the English language that we found in Pamplona! Half a century ago the city had a flourishing agricultural trade, besides manufacturing cloth, linen, flour, soap, paper goods, earthenware, iron and nails. Today, it is known the world over for San Fermin Week. FIESTA of SAN FERMIN WEEK– JULY 6 at mid-day - JULY 14 at midnight I HAD PLANNED THE ITINERARY OF MY ENTIRE TRIP TO COINCIDE WITH THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS or “ENCIERRO” as it is CALLED in SPANISH and I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED - A LITTLE UNKNOWLEDGEABLE, BUT NEVERTHELESS IMPRESSED. The fiesta began as a commemoration of San Fermin, the first Bishop of Pamplona, who was martyred around the 3rd century A.D. It was in 1186 when Bishop Pedro de Artajona brought a saintly relic from Amiens in France, which led to the veneration of San Fermin. On the 10th of October, a number of functions were held in honor of the patron saint. From 1324 to 1380, these celebrations coincided with livestock fairs. In 1381, King Carlos II of Navarre (1332-1387), aka Count Evreux, decreed that the saint’s day should be held during the 20 days following the fiesta of San Juan at the end of June. In 1590, the Pamplonese decided to switch the entire celebration to July 7th as the weather was less inclement than in October. So began a fiesta to commemorate San Fermin, to have a livestock fair and to stage a bullfight. So, with a few significant changes, the Fiesta of San Fermin has become a universal kicking over of established traces, yet something that, repeated year after year, became an inveterate tradition. Today, the measured, middle-European air of Pamplona explodes for the week until the heat, filth and broken glass make the merriment seem less like the pages out of a children’s storybook. There is a format for the week, beginning with VESPERS to San Fermin the evening of July 6th. Next morning starts with a rocket (CHUPINAZO) being shot off the balcony of the city hall. This is followed by a procession of all city officials, Pamplonese all dressed in red and white who follow the brown-faced statue of San Fermin through the ancient streets of the city. This is called the OCTAVE and is repeated 8 days later on July 14th. Every morning at 6 am during fiesta the residents of old town are awakened by a reveille (dianas): a group of musicians playing pipes and txistularis (Basque flute). Other types of traditional music to brighten up the mornings are concerts of jotero, flutes and pipes played in the Gardens of La Ticonera. On Sunday, a large group of Basque flute players play in the Gardens of Media Luna. It is known as the ALARDE de TXISTULARIS. Each morning, the papers show the route of the COMPARSA. Locals join at various points to enjoy the dances of the bigheads and to be terrified by the sticks of the kilikis and zaldikos. Meanwhile, the bulls are on public view in the Corrales del Gas in the Rotxapea (north of the river Arga). This nighttime ENCIERILLO, is when bulls about to fight the next day, are led to the corral in Santo Domingo. Then there is the APARTADO, where the maestros begin to check out the bull they have drawn to fight the next day. The bulls are separated (apardo) for the afternoon fight in a frustrating wait for these gregarious animals die if kept in solitude. The ENCIERRO, is the daily running of the bulls from the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the Calle de Mercaderes, the Calle de la Estafeta and Telefonica stretch to the bullring itself. The 800 meter milestone is the rite of passage for many young Navarrese (penas) and foreigners (guiris). The young men, who run along side the bulls, are protected by a rolled up newspaper, which is usually the best defense against the bull’s natural instinct to charge. LA CORRIDA. The bullfight starts promptly at 6:30 pm. Six bulls are challenged each day and it takes approximately 20 minutes to kill the bull. During the day, there are FLEA MARKETS and FUN FAIRS in various locations, like La Tocanera. You can buy anything from local produce to fancy dresses from foreign countries. There are also country fairs staged in the bullring in the morning. At night there are huge FIREWORK displays. Every night you can dance to VERBENAS, which are open air dances. For the children, there are puppet shows, CURRINOS and CHILDREN’S THEATRE in Castilian and Basque in the Fronton Labrit and the Plaza del Conde de Rodezno. At the Fronton Labrit, by the old walls, the handball Basque game of PELOTA is a well attended tournament. The GASTONOMIC DELIGHTS during San Fermin week are beef stew, oxtail in sauce or bull’s sweetbreads, or cod with oil, garlic and peppers for lunch with snails. Also, Navarre trout, rabbit stew, tripe and lamb cooked with tomatoes. Not to forget txistorra sausage or relleno de Villava as an aperitif. A good red wine or parxaran (sloe anis) is a great way to round off a meal, especially with a patissiers and thick chocolate to drink. On the afternoon of the 6th the stone oval of the Plaza de los Fueros provides the setting at 1 pm for a FESTIVAL OF DANTZAS. Various local dances are performed and at the end, spectators join in on the fun. At midday on the 14th in the Plaza de los Fueros, the Basque rural sport competition, the HERRI KIROLAK is held. Aizkolaris remind us of the hard work the lumber jacks do as they compete in manual log-chopping contests. The breathtaking strength of the stone-carriers, the harrijasotzaailes is also displayed. These sports are a faithful reflection of a rural society that wants to conserve its more tranquil past in the age of hustle and bustle and globalization. At midnight on the 14th, the last day of the fiesta, a unique “POOR ME” is staged in a pool in the fountain at La Plaza del Consejo. This is the meeting place for Lifelong Pamplonese who celebrate the fiesta in a more intimate fashion than the one being held elsewhere by the rowdy crowds that now make up the majority of fans at San Fermin week. BULLFIGHTING Worship and baiting of bulls has gone on for millennia. It was probably introduced into Spain by the Moors who held bullfights in old Roman amphitheaters. In the 1700’s, it was a carpenter from Ronda, Francisco Romero, who turned bullfighting into a profession. It has dominated the entertainment side of Spanish life for over 1000 years. Even today, the Corrida de Toros is described as a spectacle and its artistic nature is defended. It is not a sport. Whether you view it with excitement, fascination or apprehension, it is still considered a cruel event in France and Italy. Why its popularity has persisted Spain is anyone’s guess, but as James Michener comments in his Iberia regarding the Inquisition, “the Inquisition in all of Europe was cruel and unjustified, but why was it so prolonged in Spain?” If you want a vicarious thrill by identifying yourself with the bravery of the torero, then, by all means go for it. LA CORRIDA - THE BULLFIGHT Bullfighting is divided into three acts or TERCIOS. The opening of a bullfight is signaled by a CLARIN – a trumpet. This is followed by a PASEILLO - entrance - of pageantry into the RUEDO - arena. 1st ALQUACILILLOS – mounted constables in 16th century attire. They come in to the tune of the PASODOBLE. 2nd Three MATADORS (killers) or TOREROS (one who expresses his sentiments and artistic ability through the art of challenging and dominating a wild beast). They precede three rows of their respective CUADRILLAS – teams – the BANDERILLEROS. 3rd Mounted PICADORS. Each Matador will have two in his employ. 4th Are the mundane employees: the MONOSABIOS – who guide the Picadors horses, the MULILLEROS – who handle the mule team that will drag out the dead bull, and the ARENEROS, who tidy up the sand. TERCIO or ACT I: Begins when the President of the Corrida pulls out a white handkerchief to signal the entrance of the first bull. The bull has already been enraged by the attachment of an iron ring to his shoulder with streamers of the color of his breeder attached. He comes charging in from the CHIQUEROS – the individual pens they have been assigned to since the mornings SORTEOS. He will be greeted by a flash of the magenta and gold CAPOTE of a BANDERILLERO who will try to assess the bull’s natural tendencies: whether it favors one horn over the other, has a long, smooth charge or whether it swerves about rapidly, sees well, is strong, etc. As soon as the matador feels confident of the bull’s disposition, he will perform classic passes like the VERONICA. The series is concluded when the bull is brought to the center of the ring and the bull is maneuvered about so that the matador can withdraw from his path. Next come the PICADORS with their long, sharp lances, which they plant between the bulls shoulder blades. The enraged bull will then attack the padding of the blindfolded horse. Their aim is to weaken the bull’s very powerful neck muscles so he will keep his head down during the final act.. Generally three PUYAZOS – pics - are administered. The first TERCIO is brightened by the performances of the three matadors as they are supposed to QUITAR – draw away – the bull from the horse and perform various cape movements such as VERONICAS, CHICULENAS, GAONERAS, NAVARRAS and DELANTALES amongst others. TERCIO or ACT II: Begins when the President again uses his white handkerchief. The BANDERILLEROS approach the bull and plant their barbed, 18 inch harpoons between the bull’s shoulders. This is done to correct any tendencies for the bull to hook his horns to the left or the right. The bull, now rendered mad with rage and pain, if strong and brave will continue to charge furiously. So Act II ends with the planting of three pairs of BANDERILLAS. TERCIO or ACT III: Is begun with the sound of a trumpet. Armed with his sword and MULETA – a red serge cloth, which is draped over a 2’ stick in his left hand and his sword in his right hand, the TORERO or MATADOR de TOROS, will simultaneously approach and ask permission of the President to kill the bull. He may choose to whom to dedicate the dead bull. The bull is now more dangerous than when it first entered the arena, by now having learned the rules of the game. The right-handed DERECHAZA, in which the sword is used to expand the cloth and the left-handed NATURAL, in which, with the MULETA (a more diminutive sized cape), flourishes are usually terminated with a REMATE pass, the PASE de PECHO, taking the bull from behind the matador’s body and leading it off to the right. The Matador has 15 minutes to create his artistic masterpiece in the final act, the FAENA. The bull is brought into proper position by a series of moves and then with determination and a steady hand, the Matador must plunge his sword into a 3-inch wide opening between the animals shoulder blades and deliver the death blow close to the head and down to the heart. The ESTOCADA - stroke - is usually given A VOLPIE – running. If the bull does not die instantly, the Matador will be obliged to use a DESCABELLO – a shorter sword fitted with a crossbar. This instrument is directed at the RACHIDIAN BULB (the top of the vertebral spine), which produces instant death. The dead carcass is then hauled out of the arena by the team of mules, the sand is tidied up and the next bullfight of the day begins. If the three acts of a bullfight are viewed from the distant stands through the naked eye, it may appear to the observer as a beautiful ballet. Man pitted against a 1500 pound charging beast is breathtaking to watch. If, however the antics of the bull are viewed through binoculars, the scene may appear more grisly than artistic. The act of teasing an animal to death is not a pretty sight. The bullfights begin in Spain on 19 March and end on 12 October. There is no sign yet that the interest in Sunday afternoon bullfighting has abated in Spain, though soccer is fast becoming just as popular as this spectator involvement. JULY 8 – MONDAY Up at 5am, as Marilyn had to catch a 7:14 train back to Irun, (in Spain). The train was 45 minutes late and we were worried about whether it was coming or not as the posting was not clear at the station and no attendants spoke English. The platform and the station was littered with young people sleeping, sitting and standing – all waiting for a train back home. Walked back to the hotel, did not have my map and forgot Marilyn’s last direction (“don’t forget to turn right”) and got completely lost. Finally found a taxi that took me back to the hotel. Had a little cry in the bathroom about Marilyn leaving. Tried to call Ted, no answer, the phone must have been turned off. Managed to tape a cab driver speaking Eskerda on the way to the R.R. Stn to catch an 11:30 train for Barcelona – train late again – 12:28. Met two guys on the train who had run with the bulls 2 days in a row – said it was very scary. Read Michener on Barcelona. Will try for a city tour to see Las Ramblas and Gaudi’s Holy Family Cathedral (Sagrada Familia). Must read Jose Gironella’s “The Cypresses Believe in God – a Million Days”, Lorca, Maimonides and Averroes. The countryside consisted of low hills and a lot of fruit trees (esp. around Zaragosa). JULY 8 – BARCELONA - HOTEL CORSEGA x 3 nights – prepaid by voucher $?? x 1.02 x 7% = ?? Total extra = $83.78. Again, as the hotels in Madrid, Bilboa and San Sebatian, this hotel was centrally located and clean. Got to the Hotel Corsega at 10pm. Validated our rail passes at the station but was not able to buy the tickets from Valencia to Granada as the ticket agent at the station was closed. Miss my sister already. BARCELONA - EARLY HISTORY This city is the historic capital of the province of Catalonia. The Romance language spoken here is closely related to Provencal and Lange d’Oc, the French spoken in southern France. With its location between the rivers Liobregat and the Besos, the city and suburbs lie in an amphitheater facing southeast to the Mediterranean Sea. This gave rise to a vast commercial development which, when the rest of Spain was mining New World wealth, continued to industrialize. Its earliest history goes back to an Iberian and Phoenician settlement, which precedes the city founded by the Carthaginian, Hamilcar Barca. In 15 B.C.,it was named Barcina by the Romans. In 263 A.D, it was destroyed by the Franks and in 415, became the capital of the conquering Visigoths. This was followed by a brief occupation by the Moors in 713. By the 800’s, it had been taken over by a son of Charlemagne. Its fueros were compiled in the late 1000’s. The marriage in 1474 of Isabella of Castile – the large central province of the Iberian peninsula – to Ferdinand of Aragon – the province directly to the west of Catalonia, marked the virtual end of the independence of Catalonia (and Barcelona). It was briefly occupied by the French from 1808 to 1813. In much of the 19th and 20th centuries Barcelona was the center of disaffection, with union leaders battling with the clergy. The Civil War saw much bloodshed, with the Nationalists finally taking control on January 24, 1939. Two years after Franco’s death in 1975, the Generalitat was re-established and the city has materially flourished since that time. BARCELONA - TODAY The city today is divided into three main districts. There is the Old Town or the Barri Gotic through which runs Las Ramblas. This famous street starts at a statue of Columbus near the port and terminates at the Eixample in the northeast. To the south of Old Town is the hill of Montjuic, which rises about 700 feet above the original settlement and is where the 1992 Olympic Park was built. The sacred mountain, Montserrat rises approximately 4000 feet in the southeast to the northwest. Down from this height is Tibidabo (from the Latin “Haec omnia tibi dabo si cadens adoraberis me”, a reference reported by St. Matthew, to the Temptation of Christ when Satin took him up a mountain and offered him the world spread at his feet). This hilltop location rises 1,696 feet to the north. ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY Barcelona’s recent architectural history began in 1854 when a civil engineer, Ildefons Cerda i Sunyer submitted plans to tear down ancient city walls. This allowed the city to develop into what had been previously been a construction free military zone. The designs called for a rigid grid system that later came to be called the Eixample (the New Expansion). Always open to outside influences, the wealth of Barcelona’s industrial success at the end of the 19th century allowed the commercial elite to give full rein to the most innovative architects to design their residences and public buildings. This gave birth to a new style of art and architecture, Modernisme, which was a Catalan interpretation of Art Nouveau. Antoni Gaudi i Cornet became one of the best known of the many architects who took advantage of patrons support. ANTONI GAUDI I CORNET Gaudi, born in 1852 to a family of artisans in Rues (Tarragona), began his career as a blacksmith’s apprentice. He studied at the Barcelona School of Architecture from 1874 – 1878. As a master architect, he was influenced by his contemporaries in the skills of carpentry, glass making, ceramics and iron smithing. His experience with casting iron must have influenced his romantic approach to designing. His first major apartment building was the Casa Vicens in 1888. Among his other noteworthy achievements are the Casa Mila, nicknamed Pedrera or “The Stone Quarry”. This private apartment building was built between1906 - 1910. He incorporated the cities first underground parking lot. The undulating walls of white undressed stone make a striking background for the intricate ironwork balconies. The roof contains multiple sculpted chimney pots – their mosaic forms have been dubbed “witch-scarers”. Parc Guell is his most colorful creation. Commissioned in the 1890’s by the industrialist, Count Eusebi Guell, to create a garden city on 50 acres of the family estate, it is situated to the west of the city in what is now referred to as the outskirts of Barcelona. Then of course there is Europe’s most unconventional church, the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Gaudi is variously described as a mystic, a religious man who loved all nature, a poet who knew what fun was, a genius. He was a small man who never married – his appearance was so insignificant that when he was run over by a trolley in 1926, he was not recognized until after his death in a pauper’s bed. His designs mark him for immortality with their mosaic-studded, candy-cane like towers and facades. His buildings all have the appearance of walls being cast in rounded molds. He combined wood, rough-hewn stone, rubble and brickwork with colorful Venetian glass along with parabolic arches. He reversed the Greek penchant for turning tree trunks into fluted pillars by using the grooves of bark instead. The most universal description of his style is Neo-Gothic, Surrealistic and Art Nouveau. SAGRADA FAMILIA This unfinished Church continues to be one of the main tourist attractions of Barcelona. To approach the Holy Family Church with anything but a sense of awe gleaned from what is known about this still to be completed edifice, is to deny oneself an appreciation of the eccentric design. In 1883, a year after work had begun on a Neo-gothic Church, the task of completing it was given to Gaudi. He changed everything, extemporizing as he went along. His notes and designs were burned during the Spanish Civil War, so we are left with no completed designs or architectural philosophy for the completed cathedral. So, although work was recommenced in 1954, we will never know if the completed project will be the fulfillment of his original dream. He wanted the temple to have eighteen chapels to represent the twelve apostles, the four evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. The layout apparently follows the basic GOTHIC pattern, with a LATIN CROSS as a guide. MODERNISTA elements abound, but the Gothic style is evident in its height, use of rose windows and arches, triple portals and architectural sculpture. The temple is to have three main entrance facades depicting the birth (NATIVITY), death (PASSION) and resurrection (GLORY) of Jesus Christ. The three facades will support the iconography of Catholic dogma. Biographical events are depicted, not necessarily in chronological order as the theme is considered more important than the incidents. At the time of his death in 1926, only one tower (a prototype to all future spires) of the NATIVITY façade to the EAST and part of the APSE, in the NORTH, had been completed. The PASSION façade, to the WEST, completed in 1976, contains a naked crucified Jesus and is in stark contrast to Gaudi’s NATIVITY façade. The GLORY façade, to the SOUTH, also the NAVE, has been worked on by Josep Subirachs since 1987. Each FACADE is to have four, pinnacle topped spires, over 300 ft. high that can be seen for miles away. They are beautifully evident in the area of 4 – 5 story buildings. Each spire is to represent an APOSTLE. It is difficult at this time (July 2002) to determine if the east and west façade are part of the TRANSEPTS or not. The plans apparently call for a tower over the APSE to the VIRGIN MARY. A central tower to Jesus Christ, at 170 meters or approximately 520 feet, is to be encircled by four lesser spires to represent each EVANGELIST, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Surrounding the entire complex is to be an inside-out cloister. THE NATIVITY FAÇADE This façade has three stalactite canopies, or porches, with intricate carvings in stone, completed in 1904, which represent FAITH, CHARITY (LOVE) and HOPE. High up on the central (CHARITY) canopy is a cypress tree symbolizing the tree of life. A PELICAN at the foot of the tree symbolizes the HOST or JESUS CHRIST (the early Christians had to adopt symbols to avoid persecution by the Romans and the meaning of the Pelican derives from an early belief that a pelican, in time of food scarcity, would wound herself and feed her young with her own blood – hence the relationship to Jesus feeding his flock). Angels at the bottom hold chalices, a reminder of the Eucharist. At the top of the tree the letter T (or Tau) stands for GOD, as the first letter of God’s name in the Greek alphabet. It is red with diagonal bars crossing it forming an X, representing Christ’s name. A DOVE at the top with outspread wings represents the HOLY SPIRIT. Thus the three persons of the TRINITY are represented at the top of the tree of life. Central Door CHARITY (LOVE) The scene of the NATIVITY in the central doorway is framed by six music-playing angels. The adoration of the Magi is depicted on the lower left-hand side while the adoration of the shepherds is on the right. Columns on each side of the central portal are topped with palm fronds. At the bases are a tortoise and a turtle, symbols of stability (and longevity) of the cosmos. Right Doorway FAITH At the top an important doctrine of the church is illustrated—the immaculate conception, a dogma emphasizing that Mary had been conceived by a virgin her mother, St. Anne, and iterated in “Hail Mary, full of grace, conceived without the blemish of original sin.” The sculptures above this portal depict the Sacred Heart, the Visitation by Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, the Holy Family in their house at Nazareth, the presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple, among other scenes. The trumpeter angels are apocalyptic. Left Doorway of HOPE The pinnacle is a stylized mountain crag from Montserrat. The two sculptures depict the Flight into Egypt, the Slaughter of the Innocents and a central pair of Joseph and the boy Jesus. PASSION façade (WEST) The view from the west is a little closer than the one from the east, but you can see the bases of the bell towers. Like the Nativity facade, the Passion façade contains several sculpture groups, but these depict events from the last week of his life. The entire grouping is framed by a series of flying buttresses. Front and center is the Christ of the column sculpture, Jesus being stripped for flogging. The Crucifixion is above it. The top left side shows soldiers gaming for Christ’s garment; the bottom right, the kiss of Judas and a “magic square” that adds to 33, the age of Jesus at the time of his death. On the right side {south side) are more sculpted groups; Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”), and Pilate presiding over the trial of Jesus. This cubistic sculpture succeeds in blending with the other sculptures since it is made of the same material. APSE - NORTH The bristly tips of the apse spires are of various vegetable shapes. It is ringed by seven chapels and two circular stairways. NAVE - SOUTH This portion of the temple, now under construction (July, 2002), juts out toward the south and apparently will be a prelude to the GLORY façade. At this time, it consists of two walls in three sections, with a rose window rising in the middle. Each is topped by a pointed tower crowned with what looks like a huge basket of oranges, limes and apples, in colors which gleam brilliantly in the noonday sun. SPIRES There will be four towers. each 300 feet high over each façade, a total of twelve to represent each apostle. Their names, beside seated statues of each of the twelve, will appear on each tower. These towers which appear to spring from the ground, spiral up in an ingenious fashion, giving the appearance of having been twisted upwards. Each are topped by what almost appears to be a finial. PINNACLES The pinnacles at the top of the towers are decorated with colorful mosaics and various textures. The words “Excelsis” and “Hosanna” are embedded on some of them. Actually, what is seen is a golden trefoil or a quadrifoil on a red background. These are surrounded by a series of round balls, almost like crockets. One large ball, then two smaller ones and then another larger ball. Michener, in his Iberia, describes these pinnacles as looking like the coiled head of a cobra. MUST SEES IN BARCELONA For the hurried visitor to this most European of Spanish cities, to enjoy its tempestuous, surging and irrepressible life, there are several “must sees”. First, is the Barri Gotic, which is the nucleus of Barcelona, for the city grew around it and it is traversed by La Ramblas. This street derives its name from Arabic, rami, meaning sand, for it is constructed over an old dry river bed, the Riera de la Malla. This great boulevard terminates at the port of Barcelona at a statue of Christopher Columbus. A city tour, either a “blue south” or a “red north” is the best way to familiarize yourself with this great city. Gaudi’s masterpieces, his apartment buildings and his yet unfinished temple of the Sagrada Familia are a third must. A fourth must see for the brief visitor is the compact Gothic Cathedral in the heart of Barri Gotic. It contains some of the most magnificent medieval art and is set in front of a spacious square that sets off the main façade to great advantage. The city, like all in Spain has spread out into a modern airport and the new Port Vell. You can enjoy opera, cabaret, paella, art museums, like the Picasso – anything that strikes your fancy can be found in this cosmopolitan city. Take Michener’s Iberia with you and read up on it before you go. JULY 9 - TUESDAY After breakfast, walked the 10 blocks over to see the Sagrada Familiia. I was overwhelmed by the, what shall I say, the size and grotesqueness. The one side, the front facing north, had four very tall towers that ended in what looked like big lollipops. To the untutored eye, it looked like a child’s idea of a fun sandcastle. I walked around, noting the new construction going on and the huge derricks, and took pictures of every side. My intention was to study these pictures of my own at a later date and try to make sense out of what I saw. In the afternoon, took a “blue south” bus tour (14 euros) – not many comments in English, but found the tour enlightening and got a better understanding of the layout of Barcelona. Rolf arrived at 6:30 – great to see him and speak in English again! Walked over to see Sagrada Familia and also to view Gaudi’s apartment block, the Casa Mila - just 5 blocks from the hotel. JULY 10 – WEDNESDAY Up at noon – walked to the Barri Gotic, saw the Cathedral, which turned out to be one of my favorites as it was not Baroqued on the inside and had a lot of excellent medieval Catalan paintings. It was also set back in an open square. In this square were several mimists – one of them in an angel’s costume decided to shed his robes at noon. It was sort of funny watching him undress and then don a baseball cap. After getting completely lost (my fault), we finally found the Palau de la Musica Catalana. This palace, located in a side street was truly a celebration of Modernisme, with various ornate pillars and everyone with a different design. It was completed in 1908, not by Gaudi, but by a contemporary, Lluis Domenech i Montaner. We cabbed back to the hotel, napped x 2 hours, then cabbed back to the Old Town after dark as Rolf wanted to walk La Ramblas. Lots of tourists. Ended up eating paella at the pier-not very good-all sorts of meat mixed up with the seafood. The fried calamari were excellent. Bed at midnight. JULY 11 - THURSDAY Up at 5:30 to train station – tried in vain to buy our tickets from Valencia to Granada but they were all sold out. What to do? 1) try the station in Valencia 2) try car rental 3) try bus or flying. Geography from Barcelona to Valencia – very dry. No train tickets available from Valencia to Granada – Rolf panicky. Rented a car from Avis for 240 euros for 7/14. Taxi to El Saler, the parador cost 25 euros as it is 18 kms. from the city. JULY 11 – 12 – THURSDAY & FRIDAY - LUIS VIVES NATIONAL PARADOR x 2 days -per day = $119.54(x 2 x 1.02 x 7%= $230.46 – spent $472.66 The Parador listed for Valencia, though 18 kms from the city, was located within the city limits. It was built about 18 years ago on a pine covered, sandbar called the Dehessa. This neck of land separates a large lagoon called the Albufera from the Mediterranean Sea. The Albufera, which is one of Spain’s protected areas, is a sort of a water peninsula and is joined to the sea by a series of inlets called golas. It is not a salt water lake however, and nature lovers can observe all kinds of wildlife within its boundaries. The Parador had an 18 hole golf course and was one sand dune away from an almost deserted Mediterranean beach. VALENCIA This now modern city of around 800,000 is located about 1 ½ miles inland from the sea. Its site is enviable with a warm climate, a vast agricultural area and beautiful beaches. It straddles the river Turia, which has been channeled to irrigate the fertile delta through eight large conduits. The Huertas, or market gardens were and still are one of the mainstays of Valencian prosperity. The system of irrigation was begun by the Romans and improved by the Moors, who introduced much of the produce (like 1/3 of the rice used in Spain) and their orchards of oranges, almonds and mulberry trees. Their earliest history goes back to the Greeks, who built a temple to the goddess, Diana. In 139 B.C., the Roman consul, Decius Junios Brutus settled the defeated soldiers of the Lusitanian general Viriatus there. In 413, it fell to the Visigoths and from 714 – 1238 A.D., it was pretty much in the hands of the Moors. For 400 years, Valencia was one of the most flourishing cities in Spain, with an exchange bank and a printing press. In the 17th and 18th centuries due to the monarchy’s expulsion of the Moriscos (Moors), the city suffered financially. During the Spanish Civil War, it was the seat of the Republican government and did not succumb to the Nationalists until March 30, 1939. The effects of the bombardment are still visible, but the scars are easily overlooked. It still has a University, and a number of small craft industries especially in ceramics that support this important agricultural centre. The central portion of the city is not easily approached, having a confusing system of one-way streets. The old central core is an interesting mixture of squares and architecture. The Cathedral is a good example of this mix with its foundations over the Greek temple to Diana, then over a Muslim Mosque. It was begun in 1262 in traditional Gothic style. The west side is Italian Baroque and the south door is Romanesque. The focal point is an unfinished tower, known as the Miguelete. Around the corner to the Cathedral’s Door of the Apostles, eight men meet every Thursday to discuss any questions concerning the intricate system of canals. Their business is discussed in a local dialect, “valencianos” which is similar to Catalan. Paella, the world famous rice dish was invented here as this is where the harvesting of this grain began. There is some controversy over the ingredients, but an article written by Penelope Casas in the New York Times on 8-25-02 says that only rarely are seafood and other meats combined in this dish – that Valencians consider it a “tourist cliché” to mix the two types of meat. JULY 12, 2002 – FRIDAY Rolf’s 78th birthday. He felt so young that he celebrated twice. Opened gifts and cards from Linnea, Eric and Thor and mine – gave him an 8” censor from Santiago and a “Black Madonna from Montserrat” that he had admired in Barcelona. Had a lazy, fun morning. Walked on the Mediterranean beach, swam semi-nude and sunbathed. In the afternoon, we cabbed into Valencia, walked around a little, visited the Cathedral which was a true mixture of architecture and not altogether attractive. The old city had gardens and palm trees, the outer limits were dotted with monstrous new buildings which will probably be attractive when they are blessed with landscaping. We spent a long time looking for the Ceramics Museum, which turned out to be a disappointing display of a personal pottery collection. Then we tried to find the Grand Market. By the time we found a café and Rolf had eaten, we found the market and it was already closed. So the tour of Valencia, generally speaking was not a success. Did not taste paella here and the oranges at the Parador were not that good. Tasted Medlar pears for the first time and liked them. Took 4 of the big pits with me - will try to grow them when I get home. JULY 13 – SATURDAY Up early and I drove, with Rolf navigating from Valencia to Granada. The area around the Valencia was flat with orderly fields of orange groves, did not see any rice paddies from the car. As we drove over the Sierra Nevadas, Rolf commented that he didn’t know if he was in Arizona or southern California. In the less dry ranges, there were rows and rows of olive trees on the hillsides - reminded me of the “corn rows” that African Americans like to braid on the heads. Somewhere along the drive to Granada, we got hungry and found a local restaurant off the beaten path. It was hot and dry, as is usual in July. The owner of the café was very obliging and served us lamb from a spit. His wife looked harassed as she washed dishes and tried to keep an ear out for their crying children behind a curtain. The other customers appeared to be an extended family of local farmers (?), dressed up for an eating-out occasion. This experience reminded me of the ordinary life I had seen when I walked out of the elegant-touristy part of Santiago de Compostela – watching plain people eating, smoking, scratching and giggling was not awe inspiring. One gourmet contribution was a display of artichoke hearts draped with anchovies and topped with an olive. Delicious! We passed the exit to Granada by about 50 miles which delayed out arrival somewhat. We were instructed by the Avis car rental in Valencia to drop the car off at the Granada R.R. Stn, but when we got there (by following the tracks and asking numerous pedestrians), we found that the car had to be dropped off at the airport, which was 15 kms. SW of the city. Then had to pay 40 euros for a taxi to the Alhambra Palace Hotel. WE ARE NOW IN THE PART OF SPAIN KNOWN AS ANDALUCIA. This southwestern portion of the country comprises about 20% of the land mass and includes GRANADA, MALAGA, CADIZ, CORDOBA, SEVILLA, HUELVA AND JEREZ. GRANADA - JULY 13, 14 & 15 at the ALHAMBRA PALACE HOTEL x 3 nights @ $160.92 per night. (3 x $150.00 x 1.04 x 7%) = $492.26 - spent $761.46 This highly decorated hotel was perched on a cliff that overlooked the entire city of Granada. It was the inspiration of the Duke of San Pedro de Galatino and was inaugurated in 1910 by King Alfonso XIII. Our room was not large and the bathroom with it ubiquitous bidet was a challenge as one had to edge your way around this obstacle and then to shower, had to edge your way around a square pillar. Its most outstanding feature, besides a very accommodating staff, was the cafeteria which overlooked the mountain ringed city. GRANADA today has a population of just over 200,000. Its name, popularly believed to come from the abundance of pomegranate trees found there, is now conceded to have come from the Moorish word Karnattah or Karnattah-al-Yahud, which means “kurn” a hill and “nattah” meaning stranger. It is situated about 50 kms. inland from the Mediterranean sea on the northwestern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains and overlooks the fertile lowlands known as the Vega. Overshadowed by two snow covered peaks, the Veleta (11,338‘) and Mulhacen (11,427’), it is watered by the river Darro, which has been channelized to irrigate not only the city itself, but also the heights on which the Moorish palace, the Alhambra was built. GRANADA is now famous for three things: first of all, it is a tourist mecca to see the Alhambra, secondly, it was the last Muslim stronghold to hold out against the Reconquest of Spain by the Christians and third, and more important in many respects, it is the burial place of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Chronologically, first the REQCONQUEST of SPAIN. The early history of Spain begins with the Iberians, who were separated by high mountains and deep rivers into many different groups, each with their own language and systems of government. From the south came the Phoenicians, the Carthagenians, and the Greeks. From the north and the south came the Romans. Then from the north, the invasions of the various tribes of Goths. Finally, around 711 A.D., came the Moors from northern Africa who had their Muslim religious capital in Damascus. By 910, three quarters of the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by various tribes of Berbers, Syrians and Arabs. The Christian northeast was held by the Basques, in an area called the Kingdom of Navarre. the northwest by Galicians, the Kingdoms of Leon, which included Castile, in between. (See the Historical Atlas, 8th edition by Wm. R. Shepherd, page 82 for reference). The County of Barcelona in the northwest were mostly allied with the French. The RECONQUEST was aided and defeated alternatively by fratricidal rulers and anarchy of both the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon and the vast area ruled by the Muslims. The main difference between the two religious groups was that the Muslims knew the Koran and the Christians had a central church in Rome, a unifying Latin language and a body of Romani Civil Law. The discovery of the body of St. James in Galicia gave rise to pilgrims from Christian Europe and strengthened their ties to Rome. Gradually, the armies of the north prevailed: by 1150, Castile & Leon controlled an area south of Toledo, Aragon had the country in the southwest, in 1436, Cordoba fell, Valencia in 1438 and Seville in 1448. In 1453, the Muslim Turks took Constantinople and the expanded Ottoman empire threatened the Christian world. During that time, the Catholic Monarchs, having imposed relative peace in the Christian kingdoms, defeated the Muslims at Granada in 1492, the last bastion of Moorish control. This meant a triumph of the cross over the half-moon and was celebrated as a great victory. Prior to the conquest of Granada, the Monarchs had chosen Toledo as their burial place, but now they decided to be buried in Granada, accentuating the historical importance of the conquest of this city. When Queen Isabella died in 1504 at Medina del Campo, her wishes were respected. One of the main reasons for the failure of Muslim control in Spain was dissension amongst its rulers. Secondly, QUEEN ISABELLA and KING FERDINAND, the CATHOLIC MONARCHS Isabella, of Castile (04-22-1451 to 11-26-1504), was the daughter of Isabella of Portugal and John II of Castile. Upon the death of her half brother, Enrique, she became the Queen of Castile. She may not have been the most beautiful of women, but none will deny her virtue, her intelligence, her fortitude and eventually her administrative power. After suffering aborted attempts by her half brother to marry her for political reasons, she apparently chose her handsome, capable cousin, Ferdinand of Aragon to be her groom. Their marriage in 1469 cemented Spain in a way that it had never before experienced. When the Moors were driven out of Granada in 1492, they found the work of unification essentially more difficult than Christianization. The unification of the Peninsula, begun in 1474, accelerated after the victory at Granada. They immediately began the work of establishing order and obedience in their dominions. Their policy was to keep the old forms but to draw the substance of power to themselves. Industry was encouraged, but fixed prices and rules on how to produce did not have their full effect until the end of the 17th century. By this time, Spain was reduced to a state of Byzantine regulation in which every kind of work had to be done under the eye and subject to the interference of a vast number of government officials, many of whom were corrupt. The policy of the Catholic Sovereigns toward the Catholic Church was aimed at using it as an instrument of the government. The Spanish Inquisition, which had begun in 1480, was begun to expel Jews and the Mohammedans. As both groups were industrious classes, the loss of their services proved disastrous to the economy of Spain. The Inquisition later expanded to heretics and the history of these abuses is well documented and is especially illuminated in some of Goya’s black paintings. The support of the Inquisition was not unusual in Europe, the fact however that it lasted until 1826 in Spain, places a question on the character of those that support this sort of ethnic cleansing. Isabella bore Ferdinand 5 children, some of whom became notable in European history. All babies were born in different cities, often after days or weeks spent in the saddle, while protecting her realm. Christopher Columbus’ persistence finally paid off and she supported his venture into the vast Atlantic Ocean, which led to the discovery of America. For this endeavor, she even pledged her crown jewels, if funds from the treasury were inadequate. She was a colossus of a woman. Ferdinand was a capable general, somewhat proliferate in his affections. His maneuvering after Isabella’s death in 1504, in which he tried to bypass his son-in-law, Phillip, did not turn out as he expected. Isabella and Ferdinand’s surviving heir was Joanna, her marriage to Phillip of the House of Hapsburg gave rise to Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I. His birth in the Netherlands and his Kingship in Europe embroiled Europe in wars that were financially ruinous. Third for the fame of Granada, is the ALHAMBRA This ancient palace, garden and fortress, occupies a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada. The palace was built during the reigns of the Moorish king, Al Ahmar and his successors, between 1248 and 1354. The names of the principal artists employed is largely unknown, but they must have been influenced by the stalactites so beautifully evident in the Nerja caves. These exist about 50 kms. south on the Mediterranean coast. The palace itself is not large, its rooms speak of intimacy with their ornate arches, connecting halls and soft sandstone carvings which seem to almost drip from the high ceilings. Despite meddling from its Christian conquerors after 1492, the constantly repaired palace remains a high tribute to Moorish architecture. The garden part of the ALHAMBA is called the GENERALIFE. Both sections are irrigated from a reservoir, the source of the water being from the Darro River. The system was the result of an enormous and ingenious work of the 1300’s. The third section of the Alhambra is the ALCAZABA or Citadel. The earliest walls go back to Roman times and it provides the fortified part of the complex. In the center of the palace area is a large, square Italianate structure, the Palace of Charles V, the grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand. Following the takeover of the Catholic Monarchs of Muslim Granada, there existed a “political intention” of strengthening the sense of capitability that Granada had enjoyed for centuries under the Moors. So, to achieve this end, a rather large, awkward square palace was constructed in the midst of the delicate buildings of the Alhambra. THE RENAISSANCE It is always difficult when doing a historical analysis not to stray into related fields. For example: 1)The first date of the Renaissance as given in the Encyclopedia Britannica is 1453, when the Turks took over the Christian city of Constantinople. 2) How do you define Renaissance? Was it a period of transition, fusion, preparation - a tentative endeavor of man to reconstitute himself as a free being, not in the thrall of feudalism or theological despotism? 3) Some very influential people lived during this time. Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503), was the Borgia pope, born in Valencia, the father of Cesare and Lucretia. His excesses started the Reformation. Christopher Columbus (1446 or 1451-1506), his daring foresight brought the New World to Europe. Machiavelli (1469-1532), the Florentine author who gave us the “Prince”, a prototype for a ruler based on Cesare Borgia or was it Ferdinand of Spain – as suggested by Michener? Ferdinand’s efforts to unite Spain were certainly more successful than Cesare’s to unite Italy. Isabella of Castile (1451-1504) and Ferdinand of Aragon (1452-1516) are certainly names that have gone down in history. And then there is Michelangelo (1474-1564). NOW BACK to the DIARY: GRANADA - JULY 14 – SUNDAY Up today to see the Alhambra. Rented audio phones for 3 euros, which were almost useless. What can one say about this complex – it is stunning – to walk through the empty rooms and enjoy the grace and tranquil beauty is an experience that cannot be compared. Just wish it could have been done at a more leisurely pace with more time to reflect on my own emotional response. It was very hot, but the heat I don’t seem to mind. There are areas around the Alhambra that appear to still being excavated – wonder what they’ll find? The Courtyard of the Lions was the most beautiful or was it the Patio de los Arrayarres? The views from the various windows were of gardens and of the city and surrounding mountains. As we started rather late, will have to return tomorrow to see the Generalife and the Alcazaba. Back to the hotel for a rather expensive meal in the dining room. JULY 15 – MONDAY Up at 11 am. Took a taxi down to the city to see the Cathedral and to explore the old city a little. Like many other important buildings in Spain, the Granada Cathedral, as we saw it, is not a single unit created at one time. Although the Cathedral remained within the main Mosque of the Moors until 1561, it is not entirely clear whether the present church was built within its confines. What we do know, is that the construction of a funerary chapel was completed by 1517 so that the Catholic Monarchs could be laid to rest and their “souls could be raised to the sky because they acted with justice and faith”. At that time, houses had to be moved in order to make way for the plans for a huge cathedral. It was begun in a late Gothic style, which subsequently became Baroque. It reflects changing politics and requirements of the times (due to donations of wealthy patrons to have side chapels built in their honor). I was not that familiar with church design, but the height and light were my main impressions, plus the black and white checkered tile floor. The number of private chapels around the nave were quite a conglomeration and reflect the urgency of the wealthy to buy their way to heaven. One of the nicest things about the visit to the Cathedral the music being played: It was Mozart’s “Ave Verum” (identified by Rolf). When we finally found the entrance to the Royal Chapel, I was surprised to find it in one piece, so to speak. A plateresque grill separated it from the church, behind which are two sepulchers of Italian marble from Carrara. The figures of Isabella and Ferdinand are on the right and on the left are figures of Juana (their ‘mad’ daughter) and her husband, Phillip, the Hapsburg of Austria (their son and heir to the Spanish throne was Charles V). In the vault below were the remains of the preceding plus that of a grandson, Miguel. The Royal Chapel had many famous 15th century Flemish paintings which were magnificent (Rolf explained that Charles V, who was born in the Netherlands, expropriated them). They included ones by Dierik Bouts, Roger van der Weyden and Boticelli. The doorway to the chapel is very ornate, but I read that a relief of St. George (the patron saint of Aragon – for Ferdinand) and of St. James of Compostela (the patron saint of Spain of Castile for Isabella) were prominent amongst the figures represented. HERE BEGAN MY EDUCATION by ROLF FORSBERG on the RITUALS and SAINTS of CATHOLICISM. HIS WORDS ARE IN QUOTATIONS – MINE ARE NOT AND THEY ARE INTERPRETATIONS: “The function of a MONSTRANCE or OSTENTORIUM is, in Roman Catholic terminology, the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament i.e. EUCHARIST or a Benediction ritual. The focal point of the vessel itself is a circular, transparent container for a consecrated host. It is so designed that a nimbus of solar-like rays, made of precious metals, emanates from it. This is mounted on a metal pedestal that can be placed on the altar for displaying (the Exposition) of the Blessed Sacrament, or held by a priest, who makes a sign of the cross with it in the ritual of Benediction. It is to be noted that the consecrated Host placed in a Monstrance is much larger than the Hosts distributed to the laity during Communion.” The MONSTRANCE or OSTENTORIUM: This is a large metal vessel, sometimes a cross that may be hand-held. The stand has a crystal, beveled center in which a consecrated HOST is placed and exposed for the adoration of the faithful. The beveled glass center sparkles as the light strikes it. The HOST is a wafer that has been consecrated by an ordained priest who, by uttering the Latin words: “Hoc est enim corpus meum”, “This is my body”, meaning the body of Christ. By this method TRANSUBSTANTIATION takes place and the wafer becomes the body, the blood, the soul and the divinity of Christ. In the same way the wine in a chalice becomes wholly Christ. The priest effects TRANSUBSTANTIATION by his sacerdotal power which he received in the sacrament of HOLY ORDERS. This sacrament is performed by a bishop whose sacerdotal powers have been passed on to him through apostolic succession i.e. the powers conferred by Christ on his original twelve apostles. TRANSUBSTANTIATION is defined as the change by and at the consecration of the elements in the EUCHARIST, of the substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. The doctrine states that such a change occurs. “Roman Catholics aren’t the only Christians who believe that the HOST, consecrated by an ordained priest at the climax of the MASS, is literally Christ; body, blood, soul and divinity. That the bread becomes the ‘body’ and the wine becomes the ‘blood’ is not an uncommon misconception. Each, the solid and the liquid, becomes fully and wholly Jesus Christ, second person of the Holy Trinity. The Roman Catholic theological term for this miraculous transformation is TRANSUBSTANTIATION. Believers often refer to it as a ‘mystery of faith’.” EUCHARIST is defined from the Greek “eukharistos”, (the language used by the early Greco-Roman world), “to show favor, thanks”. It is now recognized as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; hence (a) Any of various Christian rites in which bread and wine are consecrated and distributed at the Communion (b) the consecrated elements of bread and wine. A SACRAMENT is a religious ceremony instituted or recognized by Jesus Christ. Six of the SACRAMENTS are: BAPTISM, PENANCE or RECONCILIATION, CONFIRMATION, MATRIMONY, HOLY ORDERS and EXTREME UNCTION. The seventh sacremant, the EUCHARIST, is a ritual commemoration of Christ’s SACRIFICIAL DEATH on Calvary. It is the most frequently performed sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church and is refered to as the BLESSED SACRAMENT. The seven SACRAMENTS recognized by Roman Catholic’s are a channel of Sanctifying Grace. In the tradition of many non-Christian religions, a blood sacrifice is followed by a meal. In the MASS, the Consecration is a sacrifice followed by COMMUNION. By partaking of Christ i.e. the EUCHARIST, in the form of Bread/and or Wine, the communicant receives redeeming and sustaining Sanctifying Grace. The doctrine of the EUCHARIST is at the core of Anglo-Catholic and Orthodox Christian ritual as well. In EUCHARISTIC doctrine the bread, usually a wafer and wine, which have been ritualistically dedicated to God, become Christ on the uttering of the words spoken by Christ at the Last Supper---this is my Body---or hoc est enim corpus meum, in Latin---and this is my Blood. The EUCHARIST is under two separate kinds—i.e. bread and wine---is theologically significant. The MASS is referred to as a ‘Sacrifice.’ Consecrating the bread and wine separately symbolically separates Christ’s Blood from His Body. As a ritual, the MASS is a Sacrifice of Oblation (a religious offering, usually of something inanimate) celebrating Christ’s Sacrifice of Immolation (to kill as a sacrificial victim) in His crucifixion. The EUCHARIST is the climax of the ritual of the MASS which itself is performed in two distinct parts.” “The first is the MASS of the CATECHUMENS, consisting of asking for God’s mercy, of the public acknowledgment of sinfulness (the Confetior), praising God (the GLORIA), the profession of faith (the CREDO), lessons from the Scriptures, and a homily. In the early church, the unbaptised were dismissed after the MASS of the CATECHUMENS.” “This is followed by what is called the MASS of the FAITHFUL, performed in three parts. First the bread and wine to be consecrated are carried to the altar by members of the congregation and given to the priest. This is called the OFFERTORY. The second part is the climactic CONSECRATION, in which the miracle of TRANSUBSTANTIATION takes place. The third is COMMUNION, in which both the priest and congregation partake of the EUCHARIST under one (bread) or both (bread and wine) kinds. In the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, the EUCHARIST celebrated in the MASS is to reconnect human beings to receive in greater abundance Sanctifying Grace through Christ’s death on the cross. Man fell from grace from the sin of his Original Parents, which in modern theological doctrine is more symbolic (the story of Adam and Eve). The word, MASS, comes from the Latin, ‘missa,’ of the congregation before the priest’s final blessing. The priest intones, ‘Ite missa est’—go, you are dismissed’. The congregation replies, ‘Dos gratias’, the priest makes the sign of the cross over all.” *****New note Re:Mass - On September 28, 2003, I had the privilege of hearing Bach’s Mass in B flat minor, courtesy of my friend, Rolf Forsberg. This outstanding oratorio (defined as a Scriptural theme set to written music with chorus, this is a musical form of the Mass) by Bach (1685-1750) was unsurpassed in this performance. The concert by the Music of the Baroque was held in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The first prayer of the Mass set to music by the composer is the KYRIE (a plea for divine mercy at the end of confeitor, “I am confessing my sins and have Mercy”); then the second musical offering is the GLORIA (Praise hymn, “ I long to find God in my heart”); the third offering is the CREDO (Profession of faith, life of Christ and His resurrection on the 3rd day “I come to believe in one God” – came at the Council of Nicaea where the parity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the triune Godhood was affirmed); then SANCTUS which introduces and concludes the most sacred part of the Mass, the consecration. The music commemorates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. The next part of this musical setting of the Mass is “Agnus Dei “ Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. This is repeated. After the third repetition of Lamb of God, it is concluded with Grant us peace. Musically, this is the finale of this Mass. ***** The word MASS comes from the Latin, “ite missa est”, which means “Go, this the dismissal”. The dismissal was of the CATECHUMENS who were preparing for baptism or present at a service of preparation and instruction. They were dismissed before the SACRIFICIAL ACTION began. This prelude to a MASS begins with INTROIT, preparation for PRAYERS at the foot of the ALTAR, then comes KYRIE, a PLEA for MERCY (Confetior), next is GLORIA or PRAISE. After this comes the LESSON or instruction which consists of reading from the Prophets, the Psalms, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. This is climaxed by a reading from the Gospel and Homily (or Sermon). Everyone in the congregation stands up for this. Following this prelude to the CATECHUMENS, comes the MASS of the FAITHFUL. First is the OFFERTORY – originally parishioners brought food and clothing for the priests. A priest now says, as he offers the bread and wine: “Pray brother, that this sacrifice may be worthy of the Lord, our God to become the Body and Blood of His son, Jesus Christ.” Next is the CONSECRATION (the EUCHARIST), when the priest changes the bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ. The final act of the MASS is COMMUNION whereby the faithful line up and are each receive the EUCHARIST under one or both kinds. The purpose of COMMUNION is to restore Sanctifying Grace through Christ’s voluntary sacrifice. Christ was the perfect sacrifice because he was born without the stain of original sin. Original sin was the eating from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which the CREATOR had forbidden, as they would then know as much as He did. In the 9th or 10th century B.C., a writer known as J. apparently proposed this creationist theory (thought to have originated in Babylon – from “The Epic of Gilgamesh”). See Genesis 3:15 - 24. In it, according to a theological interpretation, all progeny of man were cut off from Divine Grace by this original sin of the First Parent, Adam and Eve. Christ, however, came into this world wholly without blemish. There was no stain on Christ, he was totally innocent, born of a virgin through the Holy Spirit. The three aspects of the Godhead are God the Father, God, the Son, who became Christ the Man, and, God, the Holy Spirit. Christ came into this world to become the ultimate sacrifice, totally human and totally divine. God in modern Roman Catholic terminology is known as the Beatific Vision (to make extremely happy). However, according to the theory of Original Sin, every human born is cut off from God’s Grace. The God of Israel had demanded blood sacrifices in the form of lambs and doves. For centuries, the children of Yahweh had sacrificed lambs, not only to appease God but to restore them to God’s grace. Christ, the Supreme Sacrifice, ended the need for further blood sacrifices on the part of the Children of Israel. He did what the centuries of sacrifice of lambs failed to do. The MASS has undergone a lot of refinement over the centuries. Its roots are in the Jewish synagogue. The EUCHARIST originated as a Jewish ritual of THANKSGIVING for a meal. It became associated with a RITE in SPRING in which the Jews sacrificed a PASCAL (meaning Passover or Easter) LAMB to God in THANKSGIVING for numberless mercies and provident care. The THANKSGIVING later evolved to a celebration of PASSOVER which is noted in EXODUS as the time when the Jews were led out of Egypt by God’s Prophet, MOSES (14th century B.C.).The occasion was precipitated by the Jews in Egypt sprinkling the lintels of their doorways with the blood of slain lambs, and their first born were PASSED OVER by death. See EXODUS Chapter 12:12-13. The first born of the Egyptian families were killed or died. This was the tenth plague visited upon the Egyptians, as a sign of God’s favor to the Hebrews who had been imprisoned by them for 400 years. The element of HUMAN SACRIFICE in religious practice to eliminate evil for some beneficial purpose has existed in many cultures over the ages. The American Pawnees, the African Congo, the Aztecs in Mexico, the suttee in India are examples. In ancient Greece and Rome, human sacrifice was practiced as a means towards the expulsion of evil. In Scandinavian legend it was believed that to accompany a dead chieftain on his funeral bier with that of a young maiden was to enhance his afterlife. The earliest record of human sacrifice exists in Genesis, 22:1-13, in which Abraham (circa 1815 B.C.E., by the Jewish calendar), the Father of the Israelites is commanded by his God to show obedience by sacrificing his son Isaac. Providentially, an angel appears to stay the sacrifice and a ram, caught in a nearby bramble bush, is offered instead. Around 960 B.C., when King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, he established it as a sacred dwelling for Yahweh and the place where Jewish priests offered prayers and sacrifices to him. Is this where the EUCHARIST-PASSOVER observance of slaying a spring lamb to celebrate the yearly THANKSGIVING blessing for food began? There is no record of any connection yet. But as Jesus Christ and his disciples held their Last Supper (albeit a day early) at Passover and he is later cited as being a lamb sacrificed to God for the redemption of our sins, does not a thread occur? St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus – who never met Jesus) states in Corinthians that “The Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread and having given thanks, broke it and said ‘This is My Body, which is for your sake, this do in memory of Me.’” Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the New Covenant in My Blood. This do, as often as you think it, in memory of Me’”. So, today, TRANSUBSTANTIATION for the changing of bread and wine to the body and blood of Christ is celebrated in the BLESSED SACRAMENT, the EUCHARIST. Then there are the various robes that priests and bishops wear: The CHASUBLE is the outer vestment that priests (the celebrants) wear when saying Mass. There are two styles: the Fiddleback, and the Gothic or Modern, which is a plain cross The DALMATIC in the Western Church is the outer vestment worn by a deacon, a sub deacon and or by certain prelates, especially bishops. They come in red or white. There is the COPE (robe) and MITER (a three cornered, pointed hat) which are worn by a bishop. He carries a crosier (a shepherd’s crook). “A note on the colors of vestments worn by the clergy when saying MASS. White, red, purple, green and black are the colors determined by the nature of the feast being celebrated on a particular day. For example, October 4, is the Feast of St. Francis. Post Pascal Sundays are counted as the First Sunday after Easter, the Fifth Sunday after Easter etc. and the vestments worn during this period are green. On special feasts associated with Christ’s suffering, such as Passion Sunday, red is the color of the vestments. White is worn for joyous feasts, such as Easter. Purple, I believe, is worn for mourning. Black for requiems.” A surplice is an inner white garment worn over a black vest. Priests wear a stole to hear Confessions. “Martin Luther rejected the Roman Catholic interpretation of the EUCHARIST. To him, the consecration was more than symbolic. In the ritual of the Lord’s Supper, the spirit of Christ imbues the bread and wine in a special way. Most mainline Protestant churches perform a Lord’s Supper ritual where bread and wine are regarded as symbolic of Christ’s body and blood”. When MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546) went through his REFORMATION, he did not eliminate the EUCHARIST, he said that it was blessed by God in a special way. He did not believe that it became literally the person of Christ. Baptists, Calvinists and Fundamentalists believe this is purely symbolic and once a month, have s Lord’s Supper where they pass out cups with wine, grape juice and biscuits. Anglicans, who consider themselves to be Anglo-Catholics, believe the same as Roman Catholics. Anglicans say there are three churches: Constantinople Orthodox Church, the Church of Rome – the Bishop of Rome being the head of the European Church and the Anglican Church – with the Archbishop of Canterbury at its head. St. John the Divine Anglican Church in New York city is the largest Gothic church in the world. CATHOLICISM - after seeing paintings of so many martyred saints for Christianity, I became actively interested in how it all came about. The paintings of saints being crucified in many positions, of being disemboweled, of St. Paul being beheaded were enough to warrant inquiry. So……first of all: ST. PAUL He was born in Tarsus, a Hellenistic colony of Jews on the southwest shore of Turkey, into a family of Pharisee Jews around 10 A.C.E. They were wealthy tentmakers, who, around 30 C.E. sent Saul to Jerusalem to study with the head of the minority sect under Rabbi Gamaliel. Gamaliel, although tolerant - his favorite saying was “for the good of humanity”, taught strict observance of the Law. He disputed the rabbinical court, the Sanhedrin and was against persecuting the Apostles, saying “And now, I say unto you, let them alone, for if the work is of men, it will come to nothing; if it is of God you cannot overthrow it lest you ever be found to fight against God”. He had no leanings towards Christians, but harbored no spiritual darkness of puritan ignorance. His pupil, Saul or Paul, however was a radical purist and persecuted both men and women who believed in the teachings of Jesus that were being promulgated by his disciples. He is even associated with the stoning to death of the first martyr, Stephen. However, Paul was to undergo a conversion (Galatians 1:12). On his way to Damascus around 40 A.D., while armed with letters from the Sanhedrin to their synagogue to bring all believers in the new faith back to Jerusalem in chains, he fell into a trance, became blinded and in a flash of light heard: “Saul, why persecuteth thou Me?” Paul asked, “Who art thou, Lord?” And the voice answered, “I am Jesus of Nazareth”. Sometime after his conversion, Paul is recorded as spending three years in the Arabian desert or with the Essenes at Qumran (167 B.C.E. to 70 C.E.). Paul was then baptized by his friend, Ananias, which washed away all his sins and hence forth, he became the most charismatic, forceful and dedicated man to spread the faith of Jesus Christ. His energy and intelligence, his knowledge of Greek and of Hebrew customs enabled him to organize Christian churches wherever he traveled. Whether or not he was a true Apostle will never be known. Galatians 1:18 states that after three years he returned to Jerusalem to see Peter, whom Jesus had anointed an Apostle. Records indicate three journeys: to Cyprus and Antioch 46-48 A.D., to Greece 50-53 A.D. and to Rome 53-59 A.D. It is interesting to note that during this time St. Paul made his living by tent-making. Although he suffered many humiliations during his travels – stonings, beatings - he was protected somewhat as he was a Roman citizen. He was thus spared crucifixion when he was finally beheaded in Rome around 67 A.D. This occurred during one of Nero’s fanatical persecutions of Christian believers. His teachings and organization of the churches were originally based on the Jewish synagogue. Paul’s beliefs stemmed from those of the Pharisees which were based on Noahic Law (Genesis 9:1-17) and the Law of Moses. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits like angels and demons, in free will – man was free to make choices but that God could and did impose his will, and that man would be rewarded or punished after death depending on how he conducted his life. From the words of their prophets (see Micah 5) Rabbis had focused their teachings on the coming of a Messiah, which is Aramaic for the Greek Christus. Paul, during his conversion, believed that Jesus had risen from death on the cross and would return. He added this assurance to his preaching. He saw Him as the Wisdom and Power of God who would return in a cloud (Revelations 1:7). He also believed in the theory of the Original Sin by Adam, which in final form became the redemption in the Eucharist. While proselytizing in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas took into the Church, Gentiles, and this raised a huge controversy amongst the disciples. At the Council of Jerusalem around 48 A.D. the subject of their admission was hotly debated, mainly over the issue of circumcision. A decree was needed due to a conflict between God’s work and the teaching of the Pharisees. The issue was finally settled in Paul’s favor who did not want to discriminate, although the Pharisees felt that the admission of the uncircumcised should be forbidden as a matter of purity. This was a turning point for the separation of the organization of Churches for Christ from the Hebrew religion. This religion accepted Jesus as a prophet, but not as their promised Messiah. The greatest organizer of the Christian church, Paul brought Monotheistic truth and the ethics of Judaism to his followers. Through his message, both Jews and Gentiles, through their faith in the Gospel, could enter eternal life with the risen Christ. Paul possessed a marvelous power over men, he had unbounded confidence in himself. He wrote and spoke as a man who was conscious of a great providential mission and the herald of a high and unique cause. Many of the translations of his words are beautiful and compelling today. For example in his first Epistle to the Corinthians 1 13: 1-13 “Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or tinkling cymbal” 1:4 “Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity”. Also 1:11 “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” In 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Corinthians 1, chapter 13: 12 “For now, we see through a glass darkly…” have been used in various interpretations over the ages. He was a mighty battler for the truth as he saw it and his view of God and man was a profoundly serious one. There are, however, elements in his system of belief which endeavored to unite all men, but at the expense of sound reason and common sense. His insistence upon celibacy for priests, his denial of any but subordinate rights for women, (see St. Paul Corinthians I chapter 14: 24, 25) his dogmatic tenets for the deliverance from sin are examples. This faith, that has inspired and nourished countless millions through the ages, is testament to an enduring need. ON to the NEXT - SAINT AUGUSTINE: This man, also a brilliant writer, was not martyred but was featured prominently in paintings in Cathedrals. He was born in Algeria on November 13, 354. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian who prayed persistently for the salvation of this son. He, at first, showed no interest in matters of Christ. As a young man, he apparently satisfied every fleshly desire, while at the same time pursuing education. In Carthage, he studied rhetoric in preparation to becoming a lawyer. He studied Cicero and Plato in Rome and finally, in Milan, he became attracted by Bishop Ambrose’s expositions on the Scriptures. Along with the presence of his mother, Augustine began to read Paul’s Epistles to the Corinthians. He began to understand the lost state of man and the need for divine grace. His lust and sensuousness seemed to war with his lofty, inquiring soul. His cry: “Give me chastity, but not yet O Lord, for I was afraid thou shouldest hear me too soon and heal me of the disease which I wish to have satisfied than extinguished” was branded in his memory. He read in Paul’s Epistles the verses: “Not in rioting, not in drunkenness, not in clambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provisions for the flesh in the lusts thereof.” According to “Confessions” written 13 years later, he became wrapped in a profound peace after reading the next words: “Him that is weak in faith receive ye”. In his “Confessions”, Augustine wrote eloquently from memory of his life’s passages from those of a man torn by the inner conflicts of sexual passions to the peace he achieved through God’s grace. In 387, at the age of 34, he was baptized a Christian. Following his conversion, he resolved to return to Africa with his mother, his son Adeodatus and many like minded friends. They wanted to lead a new mode of life. Monica died in Ostia, Italy and Augustine was overwhelmed with grief. A year later, in Africa, his brilliant son also died. Three years later, he visited Hippo (now Annaba, Algeria) where he was greeted enthusiastically for his work amongst the ill and poor. In 392, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the Roman state religion. The bishop, Valerius ordained Augustus priest and in 395 he was promoted to be the bishop at Hippo. His two main problems during this period were with the Donatists and the Pelagians. The Donatists believed that the efficacy of Baptism depended on the character of the priest and that the church was to exclude all who had committed mortal sin. The role of the true Catholic Church, as Augustine believed, was that the ceremony rested on the divine foundation of the Church and upon the gift of the Holy Spirit and the communication of grace through the priesthood. See Luke 14:22 “And the Lord said unto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled’”. Pelagius, from Britain, denied that all mankind had inherited original sin from Adam. Each person, he believed, had not ever sinned. Once forgiven of sin, man had it in his own power to please God. Since his conversion, Augustine had become appreciative of the depth of human sin and the necessity of God’s saving grace. He warned of the arrogance of human reason rebelling against divine authority. Each dispute in which he engaged led him to certain theological conclusions. He flung himself, during his 34 years as bishop of Hippo, into the crusade to suppress mysteries and heresy. He shaped doctrines through which Catholic and Protestant faith flows today. The Popes in Rome were indiscriminate in their approval and disapproval. Augustine’s diplomacy was an invaluable tool in his success in binding the Catholic Church into its present cohesiveness. Books still read for their insight, humanity and spiritual depth are “Confessions”, and “City of God” - which rose out of a controversy about the fall of Rome to the Visigoths in 410. Some claimed it was due to the turning away from Roman gods. Augustine saw all history as a struggle between love of God and the love of self. He defended Christianity over all other religions in a sweeping survey of God’s eternal plan for history. In his own struggles between religion and earthly desires, religion prevailed. Christendom was not systematically achieved, it grew out of Church efforts to sanctify the world and in the process, to civilize it. A prominent theologian proclaimed that Christianity desperately needs a new Augustine to provide an incisive Christian analysis of contemporary culture as he did of fourth century paganism. Catholics look to Augustine for an understanding of the Christian faith. He died at the age of 76 on August 28, 430. He was surrounded by friends. A year after his death, Vandals breached the walls of Hippo. With St. Paul, Augustine believed in the myth of Eden regarding it as an adequate, though symbolic account of human origins. The source of trouble was found in the sin of the first parents, causing a weakening of the will to do good, leaving him at the mercy of his instincts. His towering intellect molded that of Western Christianity. The bishops in Rome, the popes claimed the keys to this kingdom as successor to Peter to whom Christ had entrusted His church (Matthew 16:19 - to Peter: “And I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven…". Through the sacraments, men lived in close association with the church from cradle to grave. By the 1200’s, membership in the Church meant submission to the Christian prince; adherence to the prince meant membership in the church.Dissenters were traitors or heretics. Augustine wrote profusely, today 200 treatises and 400 sermons survive. It is in the Scriptures, first and last, that dominates the focus of his religious authority. AND now for ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM This man was born at Antioch in 347 A.D. It was in Antioch, the second city of the Eastern Roman Empire that religious struggles found their echo. His father, Secundus, an officer in the Syrian army, died soon after his birth. Fortunately, his mother Anthusa, though only 20 years of age, was a women of intelligence and character who not only instructed her son in piety, but also sent him to the best schools. He studied under Libanius who was a tenacious adherent of the declining paganism of Rome. He also attained considerable Greek scholarship and classical culture. A decisive turning point in his life occurred at the age of 20, when he met the Bishop Meletius. The earnest, mild and winning character of this man so captivated Chrysostom that he began to attend his sermons and study the Holy Scriptures. Three years later, he received Holy Baptism and was ordained lector. Desiring to live a more perfect life, he eventually resolved to live as an anchorite in one of the caves near Antioch. He resumed his office as lector 2 years later as indiscreet watchings and fastings in frost and cold nearly ruined his health. Around 381, at the age of 34, before his own departure for Constantinople, Meletius made him a deacon. In this position, Chrysostom had to assist at liturgical functions, care for the sick and poor and to teach the catechumens. He continued with his literary pursuits and probably composed his most famous book, “On the Priesthood”. In 386, he was ordained by Flavius, who had succeeded Meletius and from that dates his real importance in ecclesiastical history. The Emperor Theodosius had imposed new taxes and the population had thrown down the statues of the Emperor. In the panic and fear of punishment, Chrysostom’s calming lectures brought a pardon from Theodosius. For the next 12 years, his sermons were mostly explanations of Holy Scripture. His fame as a theological writer spread in the Byzantine Empire, especially to its capital. In 397, the bishop of Constantinople died, and after a period of intense competition, Emperor Areadius had Chyrsostom ordained Bishop on February 26, 398. The change was as great as it was difficult for him. Constantinople was half Western and half Oriental and to top it off, had a court in which intrigue and luxury played a prominent part. Chrysostom began housecleaning, ordering Episcopal expenses to be cut and proceeding against the laxity of many of the clergy. When he began preaching against the unreasonable extravagances of the rich, his troubles began. The Empress was at first friendly, but the amity did not last. His authority had been greatly strengthened by the magnanimity and firmness of character he had shown, but by 402 it may have been these traits which augmented the jealousy of those who ruled the empire. Bishops and Emperor alike conspired to have him removed and on June 24, 404, soldiers conducted the Bishop into exile for the second time. In the summer of 407, an order was given to carry him to Pithusus, at the extreme border of the empire. Chrysostom, by this time was 60 years old and the journey was to hard on him and he died. Twenty-one years later, his remains were removed to Constantinople and were entombed with great pomp. Chrysostom held clearly that Christ was God and man in one person, but he never entered into a deeper examination of the matter of this union. His expressions on the change wrought by the priest during Eucharist are equivalent to the doctrine of transubstantiation. During his lifetime, he spoke out for ethics in politics. THE LAST SAINT - ST.THOMAS AQUINAS This saint was born in Italy, near Aquino in 1225. Following his education at a Benedictine monastery at the University of Naples, he decided at the age of 18 to join the Dominican order. His mother confined him in the family castle for a year, urging him to change his mind. After her vain attempt to dissuade him, he went to Paris where he studied under the German scholastic philosopher, Albertus Magnus. Albertus Magnus (1206?-1280), a Dominican, had a remarkable knowledge of experimental science, geography, medicine, astrology and botany. He is known for his interweaving of Aristotlian, Arabian, Jewish, Neoplatonic and Augustinian elements. Despite a distrust of Aristotle, he was able to propagate the teachings of this Greek philosopher.. Because Aquinas was heavy set and taciturn, his fellow novices called him “Dumb Ox”, but his teacher predicted that one day he would fill the world with his bellowing. Aquinas was ordained a priest about 1250 and taught at the University of Paris for a few years before being called to Rome by Pope Alexander IV in 1259. There he acted as a lecturer and advisor to the papal court. In 1268, he returned to Paris where he became involved with a controversy between the Islamic Averroists and the theories governing Catholicism as expounded by Augustine. He had taught that in the search for truth, one must depend on sense experience. Early in the 1200’s, major works of Aristotle were made available in Latin translation, accompanied by comments by Averroes and other Islamic scholars. The vigor, clarity and authority of Aristotle’s teachings restored confidence in empirical knowledge. The Averroists asserted that philosophy was independent of revelation. This threatened the supremacy of Roman Catholic doctrine and filled orthodox thinkers with alarm. It was impossible to ignore Aristotle, to condemn his teachings was ineffectual. Aquinas, first of all, reconciled Augustinian emphasis on the human spiritual principle with the Averroist claim of autonomy for knowledge derived from the senses. He insisted that the truths of faith and those of sense experience as presented by Aristotle were fully compatible and complementary. Some truths, such as reincarnation can only be known through revelation and others, such as the composition of material things, only through experience. The existence of God were known equally by both. All knowledge, Aquinas held, originates in sensation, but sense data can be made intelligible only by the action of the intellect, which elevates thought toward the apprehension of such immaterial realities as the human soul, the angels and God To reach understanding of the higher truths, those with which religion is concerned, the aid of revelation is needed. Aquinas’ moderate realism placed the universals in opposition to extreme realism. This synthesis brought into line the Bible and Roman Catholic doctrine with the teachings of Aristotle, of Augustine, of Averroes, and of the Jewish thinker, Maimonides. St. Thomas Aquinas died at the age of 49 on his way the Council of Lyon on March 7, 1274. More successfully than any other theologian, he organized the knowledge of his time in the service of his faith. BACK to the DIARY of JULY 15th After the visit to the Cathedral, we wandered aimlessly through the streets of Granada. Suddenly, we heard some beautiful guitar playing from a tape in a music store. Rolf recognized it as La Luna Verde or the Green Moon. He didn’t want to take the time to go and buy the recording, as time was flying, so we took a taxi back to the hotel. We walked over to the Alhambra to see the Generalife and the Alcazaba – in the heat of the mid-day sun. I bought a book on Andalucia – learned that the River Darro was the source of water for a reservoir for the Alhambra. It also stated that from the top of the Torre de la Vela (the watch tower of the Alcazaba) “one can see the clearly two enclosures one within the other. The smaller is probably of Roman origin as can be deduced from the foundations in the lower part of the walls as it was built around 889 A.D.” Always looking for origins, I just had to climb the tower and look for myself. I am not sure of what I actually found or saw. At the Generalife, we found a large garden laid out in an Italian fashion and an outdoor theatre which was to show “Bode de Sangre (Blood Wedding), a play by Garcia Lorca that had been made into a ballet – but was to open the next night. Back at the hotel, a very kind desk clerk finally found the phone number and address of a bookstore that sold Lorca’s plays in Spanish and English. So, off we went in a taxi to the LIBERA METRO @ c/Gracia 31 – phone number 958-261565 - so that Rolf could buy some plays by this famous Spaniard in both languages. Garcia Lorca was assassinated by the Nationalists around 1937 for his leftist sympathies and because he was a homosexual. The cab driver also drove us, at our request, by Lorca’s summer residence in Granada, but it was closed that day. When we got back to the hotel, we walked down to see Manuel de Falla’s home, which had already closed for the day. Rolf read me Lorca’s “Five O’Clock in the Afternoon” about a bullfighter who is gored to death. We had a chicken sandwich and apple cake on the terrace before going to our room at 10:30 pm. Packed first and to bed at midnight. Slept poorly - had to be up at 6am to catch a 7:10am train for Malaga. JULY 16 – TUESDAY – TRAIN from GRANADA @ 7:10 to MALAGA via BOBADILLA PARADOR GIBRALFARO x 2 days @ $116.48 x 1.048 x 7% = $261.22 (spent $447.65) This Parador was built ?? years ago just below the Castillo Gibralfaro, which was a Moorish fort built in the 1300’s as a Phoenician lighthouse. The name “Gibralfaro” from “Jebel Faro” literally means mountain of the lighthouse. CONTINUING with the DIARY of JULY 16th.. We were on the train @ 7:10 heading for Bobadilla. When we got there, we had trouble trying to figure out which RR Tx we should be on to catch the next leg of our journey to Malaga. We finally went underground to a 2nd Tx, when we heard a train going past on Tx #1. Rolf ran ahead, shouting, “Wait, wait, hold the train” in English. Well, the train roared by and fortunately was not the 11:45 train for Malaga. Arrived in Malaga and by cab for only 4 ½ euros, we were driven up to the top of an escarpment at the north end of the city to a beautiful, vine-covered Parador. The view of the blue Mediterranean was spectacular from our 2nd floor, bougainvillea-covered balcony. The wound on my left shin that I got in Pamplona, was now red and swollen, so I started on the Cipro (thank you Joe). Went swimming in the roof top pool and slept from 7 pm on. Rolf went down to the city by cab as he wanted to see the St. Carmel Festival for Fishermen. He enjoyed the crowds and the excitement, but not the expensive cab ride back. MALAGA – Population now approx. 600,000 The earliest history belongs to the Phoenicians from the coast of Lebanon who founded a settlement in a bay at the outlet of the Rio Guadalmedina. To the north were extensive salt marshes and this became the first of many industries to give prominence to the city. Harbor facilities and later the connections as a branch to the main RR line @ Bobadilla made it a connecting line for trade in iron, lead, brandy and pianos, of all things. It became subject to pillaging by Carthage and by 211 B.C., it was a Roman city. The Visigoths came next, then the Moors in 711 A.D. In 1487, the Citadel was captured by Ferdinand and from then on, it was part of Spain. Wars and pestilence wrought havoc on its economy over the years. It was a Republican stronghold until captured by the Nationalists and Italian troops on February 8, 1937. Massacres and retributions were extracted by both sides. Today, Malaga is a prize tourist attraction on the Costa del Sol with many places to see. It is the birth place of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). ON with the DIARY – JULY 17 – WEDNESDAY Up at 7:30 - thoroughly refreshed. – insisted on making an itinerary so we could see the highlights during our one and only day in Malaga: Dorothy’s Suggestions Rolf’s Suggestions 1) 9:30am Walk up to Castillo Gibralfaro A) Walk Castle, Alcazaba, Roman Theatre-To Hotel 2) Walk down to the Alcazaba B) Beach (La Playa) &/or Pool-Taxi to Hotel 3) Walk over to Roman Theatre D) TAXI 4) 11am Get up to the Picasso Museum 5-PM Cathedral 5) 12pm Down to the Cathedral 6:30 PM Picasso Museum 6) 2pm Beach 8-PM Return to Hotel 7) 3:30-4:30 Lunch 4:50 Back to Hotel for Siesta + Pool Well, we clambered up to the top and down again to the bottom of the escarpment, almost missed the Roman Theatre (Rolf’s sharp eyes spotted it behind a reconstruction fence). It was very impressive - we took several pictures but could not imagine cheering crowds being there almost 2000 years ago. We stopped for ice cream and decided to hire a horse and buggy for a ride around the central city area. Our driver was Antonio Castano Montero (c/Berque, Bloque 1 41, Malaga 29002). Took a photo of him and his horse, Lola. Cost 20 euros. When we drove by the ubiquitous bull ring, Antonio told us that bullfighting was no longer as popular as soccer in Spain. Needless to say, we did not stick to the itinerary (Rolf would not wear his bathing suit under his clothes for a swim at the beach). At the Picasso Museum, I was touched by Picasso’s red calligraphy on a poem by Pierre Reverdy (1889-1960) written January 1946-March 1948. It was called “Le Chant des Morts”. The poet had written: “In the margin of time/Through this naked heart/overflowing with bitterness/Picasso’s (seed) sowed in the wind that peoples the deserts”. In the Cathedral in Malaga, Rolf genuflected in front of a side chapel that had red candles burning.. IT MEANT THAT THERE WAS A BLESSED SACRAMENT IN THE TABERNACLE. At lunch I had an octopus salad and a beer, Rolf had fried Malaga fish and chips and white wine for 14.70 euros. Taxi back to the Parador was 4.75 euros. JULY 18 – THURSDAY – left MALAGA by TRAIN @ 7am for CADIZ via a SIX-HOUR LAYOVER in CORDOBA or CORDOVA. We spent most of the 6-hour layover in Cordova at the very big Mosque, called in Spanish, a Mesquita. We had read Michener’s description and were therefore better prepared to make our own observations. Rolf’s comment however summed it up for both of us – “Like a church rummage sale in the middle of a candy factory”. The Cathedral was just plopped in the center of columns of yellow and red painted arches. The reconstruction did not help either. The Patio de los Naranjos (Courtyard of Oranges) must have been cleaned up since 1968 when “Iberia” was published because it was very pleasant with orderly rows of – I assume – orange trees surrounded by 12’ walls. The Mosque itself was built in 788 by the first caliph, Abderraman I. (or Abd-ar-Rahman) It was built on the banks of the Guadalquivir River over the foundations of a Roman Temple and later, a Visigothic Church. The dimensions of the completed Mosque were 500’ x 425’, a little less than St. Peter’s in Rome. About 1/3 of the area is taken up by the Patio and the surrounding cloisters. In 1523, during the reign of Charles V, the Town Council decided to erect a Cathedral amidst the Muslim columns. It was completed 250 years later, having changed from Gothic to Baroque architecture and from Plateresque to Herrerian style. In place of the minaret, they built a 300’ belfry. The open Moorish archways around the periphery had for the most part been bricked up. The most beautiful monument left from the reigns of the Moors was the MIHRAB (a term in Mohammedan architecture given to the niche which in a mosque indicates the direction of Mecca; sometimes called a prayer niche). The richly ornamented arch opened to an octagonal recess roofed with a single block of white marble carved in the form of a shell. Its walls were inlaid with Byzantine mosaics. It was stunning! The worn flagstones in the recess indicate where pilgrims circled it seven times on their knees. The recess once contained a gilt copy of the Koran. Anyway, back to the mundane: while resting our feet at the foot of one of the candy-canes, I told Rolf that I badly needed a bathroom. I explained the Kegel exercises to Rolf that had been recommended to Hilary and me by Marilyn. He found them hilarious and immediately launched into his jingo-mode. He made up several lines about “Kegel girls – stretch and exercise”. Very funny. After an inappropriate pit stop, we left the confines of the Mosque and had a very mediocre lunch at the Red Caballo. I had an insalata mixta and Rolf had spoiled ham. The entrance to the restaurant was lovely – all hanging vines. We caught the train for Cadiz and arrived at this seacoast city @ 9:30pm. A long, long day! JULY 18 -19 – THURSDAY and FRIDAY - CADIZ PARADOR – HOTEL ATLANTICO – a modern, converted hotel situated by the sea with views from the bedrooms of the Bay of Cadiz. Times 2 nights @ 91.94 euros per night x 1.04 = $96.35 x 7% = $103.09 x 2 = $206.18. Spent $310.58. CADIZ - population in 1960 was 115,000 This ancient city, reputed to have been continuously occupied for 3000 years, is situated west of the southern of tip Spain that leads to the Rock of Gibraltar. It lies on the coast called the Costa de la Luz and owes its early fame to a uniquely protected harbor. The city is built on the narrow, rocky island of Leon which curves out into the Atlantic Ocean around a fairly deep harbor. This island is separated from the mainland by a series of flood channels. A modern bridge has been built over low lying salt marshes to reach this city (hence the famous line: Cadiz: salada claridad or salt-laden brilliance). The city itself is credited by history to having been established by the Phoenicians as the city of Gades around 1100 B.C. (Or, as in Leonard Cottrell's book: "The Anvil of Civilization" - 1963, it was a colony called Tashish). It was occupied by the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors (711 A.D.) and by the Christians under Alfonso XI in 1262. After the Catholic Monarchs took over, the city regained prosperity from the wealth of the New World (annual import of gold and silver up to 1765 was 5,000,000 pounds annually). After regaining control from the British under Sir Francis Drake in 1587, Cadiz is known for for engendering the Cortes de Cadiz. In 1812, it had a model Parliament that other European countries were to follow. French occupation in 1823 suppressed Liberalism throughout the country. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, Cadiz, along with Saragossa, Seville and Burgos declared their support for the Nationalists under General Franco. It is difficult to find any figures on the amount of trade in sherry or minerals that is carried out from the port of Cadiz at this time. The tourist trade seems to be more or less flourishing. BACK to the DIARY of JULY 18th Swam in the pool, enjoyed the view from our modern balcony, had dinner and went to bed. JULY 19th - FRIDAY We walked along the waterfront from the Parador through the Parque Genoves, then turned right to a beautiful tiled walkway called the Alameda Marques de Comillas. Under a huge old fig tree, Rolf was surprised to find a bust to the Cuban poet, Jose Marti (born in Havana in 1853 – died in 1895 during one of the skirmishes in the war for Cuban independence). Of universal importance is this rendering of his: “I Cultivate a White Rose”: I cultivate a white rose In July as in January For the sincere friend Who gives me his hand frankly. And for the cruel person who tears out The heart with which I live, I cultivate neither nettles nor thorns: I cultivate a white rose. We decided to miss touring the Cathedral in Cadiz (where Manuel de Falla 1876-1946, a native of Cadiz is buried), instead went to the Historical Museum which was located on a quiet street. It was spacious and had, most memorably, some Phoenician busts with smiles on their faces. There was also a large statue of the Emperor Hadrian (76 -138 A.D.). Born in either Rome or Italica (on the River Guadalquivir – just down from Seville), of Italian ancestry, his mother, Domitia Paulina came from a wealthy, distinguished family of Cadiz. His uncle was the Emperor Trajan. Upstairs was one of the largest art galleries in Andalusia. There we admired a lot of paintings by Rubens, Zurbaran and Murillo. We walked over to the Plaza de Espana and had lunch. Back at the Parador, we picked up tickets for a flamenco show from Alicia Perez, a charming lady who sold goods at the shop there. Alicia learned her English while attending the London School of Economics. The flamenco show at La Cava was a very big entertainment thrill for me. A young man, about 20, named Raul Galveg Garcia was the chanter, an older man, Ignacio Alvare was the guitarist and the two exquisitely beautiful dancers were Asun Armario Flores and Patricia Aparicio del Castille. I taped almost the entire first half of the show. We did not stay for the second half as I had a long drive the next day. La Cava was small and intimate and was run by a man who behaved like a bullfighter with flourishes as he turned the corners of his counters to serve us. I gave each performer 5 euros (probably not much to them, but a total of $20.00 to me). All in all, we enjoyed our brief stay in this small city very much. JULY 20th – SATURDAY We picked up our rental car, a Chrysler and I drove with Rolf navigating again. Rolf asked me what my former husband, Charles, would think of our driving arrangement. I told him, “He would give you a Purple Heart”. Our minimal map was not as much help as our compass in finding the right road through the town and across the salt marshes, but, we finally found our way to our first destination of the day: Jerez. JEREZ (de la Frontera which means “of the frontier” was added toward the close of the 1300’s – common to several towns on the Moorish border) This city is located near the right bank of the River Guadalete about 25 kms. northwest of Cadiz. It is built in the middle of a fertile plain and is the center of sherry-producing in Spain. The grapes for the vineyards are believed to have been brought from the Levant by the Phoenicians, their culture was continued by the Romans and the Moors. Jerez was taken by the Christian king Alfonso X in 1264. The name Jerez, Anglicized to sherris by the English has been attributed to the Roman Asido Caesaris, corrupted by the Moors into Sherish. The most characteristic feature of Jerez are the many huge bodegas or wine lodges, for the manufacture and storage of sherry. On with the DIARY of JULY 20th – SATURDAY We finally found the outskirts of Jerez, but were dumbfounded by the lack of signs promised by the hotel people in Cadiz to the GONZALEZ-BYPASS Bodega (pronounced Gon-thal-eth-vi-path). I drove into a private driveway and between the two of us with my “Dondez-este” and Rolf’s more correct pronunciation, we asked a man getting into his car where this bodega was? He merely waved us to follow him. And follow him we did, through a maze of streets through the main section of the city until we finally saw a sign “Gonzalez-Bypass Bodega”. Our very kind leader then dropped his arm out his window, signally that this was our destination and drove off. So, THANKYOU, WHOEVER YOU WERE. We found a parking spot and went around until we found the ticket agent – we bought tickets for the tour in English. After a wait, we boarded a tram and were taken on a tour of a well kept, flower be-decked establishment. Apparently a wife of Senor Gonzalez was very interested in horticulture and was behind many of the luscious gardens. The Gonzalez Bodega was founded in 1835 by 23 year old Manuel Maria Gonzalez Angel. During a visit to England in he met with Robert Blake Bypass, a wine importer. In 1855, he became a partner in the company. In 1862, “La Concha” bodega was designed by the French engineer, Gustave Eiffel. Tio Pepe, the fine dry “Fino” sherry is named after Manuel’s uncle Joe, Don Jose, an acknowledged sherry expert. The company is still directed by the 4th and 5th generations of the Gonzalez family. After the tour we were treated to free sherry (I, the driver did not have any – Rolf carried on a spirited talk about his experiences in Holland with a Dutch couple). The gift shop was great because I found a “wine thief” requested by Marlon Liebelt. It is a little brass cup at the end of a rigid leather thong used for dipping through the skin that forms - probably through the flower weil, to test the quality of the Fino. SHERRY The PALOMINO grape is the foundation of the drier, more delicate sherry and the PEDRO XIMENEZ, is used for the sweeter, fuller type of sherry wine. The PALOMINO is a white grape grown on white, chalky soil called ALBARRIZA. This soil retains water, from rain in autumn and spring and moisture from early morning mists, which helps the vines withstand the rigors of the summer heat. In most summers this part of Andalusia enjoys 180 days of sunshine. The sherry growing district in Spain covers a small triangle of land formed by the Guadalquivir and Guadalete Rivers down to the Atlantic coast in the south. There are two other inferior types of soil in this region: one is almost entirely clay called BARROS, the other is sandy soil, called ARENAS. Hard, manual labor is still of critical importance in sherry making. The grapes are harvested in the VENDIMIA (which in Spanish simply means grape harvest), by hand during the first three weeks of September. The PALOMINOS are then PRESSED to produce juice known as MUST. The best quality is chosen for FERMENTATION, a natural process by which YEASTS grow on the SKIN of the GRAPES. This requires CONTACT with the AIR. When fermentation ceases, the new wine is RACKED (to draw off from the lees – the sediment or dregs) and the wine undergoes its first classification between FINO (dry) and OLOROSO (sweet) types. For FINO, the phenomenon of the velo de flor, literally the “FLOWER WEIL”, gradually appears. This “cover” prevents oxidation and a second biological process takes place in which MICRO-ORGANISMS GROW to cover the surface of the wine. This gives it the characteristic bouquet, dryness and an alcohol content of 15.5 %. Grape drying only is required for PEDRO XIMENEZ grapes. They are laid on ESPARTO MATS to shrivel in the sun to concentrate the sugar. New wine classified as OLOROSO shows a slightly higher alcohol content and develops a final gradation of 18%. This prevents the FLOR from growing, so the wine ages physically, with no biological changes. All sherry is AGED in CASKS of AMERICAN OAK under the traditional system of “CRIADERAS and SOLERAS”. In this method, the SOLERA, from which the wine is drawn off for bottling and sale, is the last of a long series of stages. Each stage involves combining younger with older wine that eventually acquires the characteristics of the SOLERA, thus assuring that the qualities of a sherry remain constant. The dry sherries: FINO produced in Jerez and MONZANILLA, only matured in the town of Sanlucar de Barrameda are best enjoyed chilled with TAPAS. The longer aged, sweeter wines, yet still dry styles of AMONTILLADO and OLOROSO go well with JAMON SERRANO (salt cured ham dried in mountain air). BRANDY de JEREZ is made by the distillation of wine. The spirits obtained, known as HOLANDAS are left to rest in OAK CASKS that previously contained SHERRY for at least THREE YEARS. We left Jerez de la Frontera around 3:30pm and drove hell-bent over hills and wooded groves for HUELVA. Our route led us northeast toward Seville. Not far out from Jerez, we finally passed through the chalky region and saw some Palomino grape vines. I asked Rolf to get out of the car and pick up a lump of chalk for me, so I could just feel it. Either on the way up or down toward Huelva, we passed several hillside monuments to very large black, Spanish bulls, the type who are bred and live on large pastures where they live like kings for 3-4 years before being sold to the 2000 or so bullrings around the country. According to the latest estimate, 11,000 bulls are killed every year. Of course, the meat is not wasted. The only reason for going to Huelva was because it was the closest accommodation we could find to the proximity of PALOS de la FRONTERA. According to the guide books this was from where CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS embarked on August 3rd 1492, to discover an ocean route to the riches of the Orient, only to discover AMERICA. HUELVA JULY 20th – SATURDAY We arrived at this port city about 5 o’clock. We drove along a main entry street, looking for Pablo Ardo Street. We stopped at an intersection and asked a pedestrian if he knew where Hotel Monte Conquero was. Well, it was across the street! HOTEL MONTE CONQUERO – a pleasant 4-5 story hotel with underground, valet parking. One night @169.37 euros x 1.03.43 x 7% = $176.07. If I had produced my voucher, the cost should have been $70.00 per night – did not realize until much later that the voucher was attached to the voucher for the air ticket from Santiago de Compostela to Bilboa. The window from the room looked down on a light well covered with blooming blue morning glories. Our dinner that evening could not be in the hotel as they had a wedding reception. We ate in the café attached to the hotel – very expensive (the ad was two for one but Rolf had to pay for both meals) and was not very tasty. JULY 21st - SUNDAY HUELVA Population 142,000. Founded as Onuba by the Phoenicians, Huelva had its grandest days as a Roman port. It is sprawled around the waterfront on the Rio Odiel which serves this industrial city. The greatest local industry is the mining of copper manganese and iron. Huelva is just east of the border with Portugal. CONTINUE with the DIARY of SUNDAY, JULY 21st We walked around the streets for about ½ an hour and then took off for PALOS de la FRONTERA. This is the historic city from which CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS sailed on August 3rd, 1492 for shorter route to India and discovered the New World. This was an easy drive over a 4- lane paved highway. Our biggest problem came when we could not decide how far our destination was. We finally found PALOS de la FRONTERA and our next effort was to find the 15th century Iglesia de St. Jorge, the church from which Christopher Columbus heard Mass before leaving to board his caravel, the Santa Maria. In route to finding the church I had my first and only encounter with a Spanish policeman. I was driving the wrong way down a one-way street in this very hilly town. He remonstrated with me, showing me the international sign for one-way and let me go – fortunately. We found the historic church behind a sunny plaza and noted the plaque embedded in the wall: “En esta plaza, el Miercoles 23 de Mayo de 1492, en presencia de fray Juan Perez y Cristobal Colon y Estando a simismo presentes los alcades mayors Alvaro Alonso Rascony y Diego Rodriguez Prieto y los regidores Francisco Nieto Prieto y Alonso Gutierrez. Fue leija al pueblo de Palos por Francisco Fernandez Escribano publico de la villa la real provision expedida el 30 de Abril en Granada por los Reyes Calolicos en la cual se ordenaba a los Palermos que pusieran dos carabelas armadas al servecio de Colon y que partieran con el en el viaje que iba a emprender hacia las indias por mandado de sus Altezas (highnesses). (Archivo General de Indias leg. 11, Ramo 4, fls. 57 a 58v?) The sunny plaza was deserted, which struck me as odd for so famous a place. Every other touristy spot in Spain had been crowded – even in the heat of summer. Inside the church, we found a priest who was too busy with his paper work to bother with us – Rolf spoke to him in Spanish. There was a large hanging inside which, in 1992 commemorated the 1492 date of sailing. Across the street, there were remembrances of the Pinzon brothers, Martin and Vicente, two of Columbus’ captains who came from this town and who were able to find a crew to sail with him on his adventure. Silted up or not, I wanted to see the actual bay from which Columbus had set sail. So, we drove to the top of a hill where an obelisk-like monument had been erected to Columbus (it was disintegrating and had strands of barbed wire around the base to prevent close access). At the foot of the obelisk, topped by a cross was this inscription: ANO DE MIL OCHOCIENTOS NOVENTA Y DOS REINANDO DON ALFONSO XIII BAJO LA REGENCIA DE SU MADRE ONA MARIA CRISTINA DE AUSTRIA CON MOTIVO DEL CUARTO CENTENARIO DEL DESCUBRIMIENTO DE AMERICA Y ARA QUE AQUI CONMEMORE SIEMPRE TAN ECUNDO Y GLORIOSO SUCESO EGIGIO ES ANA ESTA COLUMNA QUE DOMINA SITIO DESDE DONDE L S NAVES DE COLON SALIERON AL OCEANO EN BUSCA DEL DESCONOCIDO C NT NENTE EL DOCE DE OCTUBRE DE 1 6 DIA DE LA HISPANIDAD SIENDO JEFE DEL ESTADO ESPANOL (the rest of the lines were obscured by the strands of barbed wire) At the bottom of the hill was a marshy area, which I had to assume was the former port of Palos which was probably a small branch of the Rio Tinto (one of the two rivers that enters the Atlantic at Huelva. Just 2 ½ miles north, we found the Monesterio de Rabida, which was closed that day. We drove a little further and found a small bay where a prototype of the Santa Maria was docked. Going on board certainly gave me an idea of what a small craft had set sail over 550 years ago. On that journey only the captain was sure that they would not drop off the edge of the earth. As we left the small town of Palos de la Frontera, we passed a neatly laid out suburb with street signs and pavement, but no houses. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Although it is generally conceded that this great navigator was probably born in born in Genoa in 1446 or 1451, (there are no birth records) a book published in 1998 by Alfonso Philippot Abeledo maintains that he was born in Saint Salvador de Poio, Galiciia. The prologue is written by a direct descendant of the Admiral, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal y Gorosabel. The rationale behind the claim is that many names of places given by Columbus were native to Galicia. This bit of information was first presented to me by a Spanish sailor from A Coruna who was my seat mate on the flight from Madrid back to Chicago. There is a note on Google.com under “bigchalkHOMEWORK CENTRAL on Christopher Columbus” with this information. Whatever the merits of either claims, many of his activities during his adult life are well recorded. *****On August 1st, 2004, on the History Channel, advertised in the New York Times on Sunday, August 1, a program called " Columbus, Secrets from the Grave" was to be shown. Must call this channel and buy the video, in its ad i6t maintains that DNA samples from the tomb in Seville will determine who was actually buried there. We were to watch a direct descendent of Christopher columbus by the name of Anunciada Colon hand over the keys that hold 'his' bones. ***** Beginning around 1476, he accompanied a lot of seaworthy vessels and visited England, Ireland and possibly Iceland. Although the “Viking Sagas’ were unknown in medieval libraries, stories of their explorations were probably circulating. Probably in 1478, he married Felipa Munoz de Perestrello, a member of a minor noble family in Lisbon. More importantly, her father had been a Captain in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460). Prince Henry had advanced the navigational prowess of the Portuguese to a considerable extent in the 14 - 1500’s. Columbus had a lust for learning - his library included not only the Bible, but also Pliny’s “Natural History”, Plutarch’s “Lives” - and he was said to be able to absorb a lot of knowledge and draw out pertinent information. The reports of the Venetian, Marco Polo’s (1254 – 1324) adventurous, overland journey to China also excited his imagination. At this time in history, it was a common assumption that the world was round - only its circumference was under estimated. There is no record of when the notion of the “Enterprise of the Indies” first took hold in the mind of Columbus, When it did, he began his "Quest for a Patron”, as an expedition of the sort he had in mind had empire and financial concerns beyond his reach, In 1481-82, following his return on a mission for the Portuguese King John II to explore the coast of Africa, his “Quest” began. The King referred Columbus’ proposal to a Committee of Council on Geographic Affairs. One of the purported reasons for turning down his idea, was because it was deemed too expensive. King John however liked Columbus’ proposal and on the suggestion of the Bishop of Cuenta, dispatched a rival caravel in secret (the crew panicked and the ship had to return to port). When Columbus learned of the betrayal, he took his son Diego (Felipa Munoz had died) and, in 1484, left for Spain. In 1488, he was back in Portugal again, with the promise of safe conduct from the King (had he left 4 years previously over some bad debts?) His next quest for a patron, lead him to the King of France. The French king introduced Columbus to Count Medina Celi, who entertained him for two years before deciding that the undertaking was too big for one subject. He did send him off to Queen Isabella of Spain in 1486. Columbus repaired himself to the Spanish court in Cordova, but the Catholic Monarchs were too preoccupied with expelling the Moors from Granada to pay him much heed. Around 1488, we find Columbus’ brother, Bartholomew in England, trying to interest King Henry VII in the enterprise. Finally, Juan Perez, formerly the Queen’s confessor, wrote urging Isabella to hear Columbus. She subsequently summoned him for an audience in Granada. He reached the city on January 2nd 1492 to witness the surrender of the Moors and negotiations were resumed. Columbus was very sure of himself, and demanded 1) the rank of Admiral 2) Vice-Royalty of all lands discovered and 3) 1/10th of all precious metals discovered within his Admiralty. His requests seemed excessive and were initially denied, so Columbus set off for France. Due to the entreaties of the Marquesa de Moya and of Luis de Santangel, who was keeper of the ecclesiastical revenues of Aragon and of other courtiers, Isabella was finally persuaded to grant Columbus his wishes. On April 17th 1492, the agreement between Columbus and their Catholic Majesties was signed and sealed and Christopher Columbus began preparations to sail west for Chipangu (Japan) or to meet with the grand Khan of Cathay. The rivalry that existed between the European powers for the riches of the east had been compounded by the advance of the Muslim Ottoman Turks into control of southwestern Europe. In 1453, they made Constantinople the capital of their empire. This cut off easy land access to Asian goods and the only alternative was to discover a sea route around Africa or a direct sea route to the west. Later, the Portuguese sailor, Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Africa in 1497 to establish trade in Calcutta. VOYAGE #1 began on August 3rd, 1492 in Palos de la Frontera and land in the Bahamas, San Salvador, was sighted on October 12th. They had one decked ship and two caravels, 104 men and traveled 150 miles per day. The sailors had almost mutinied on September 13th when westerly variations of the compass needle were noted. Although there are no written records of his first voyage, it is believed that Columbus altered his course and did not tell his shipmates. The Island of Haiti was also discovered: large quantities of gold and gems were found and taken from Santo Domingo. (This city is now the capital of the eastern part of the island, now called The Dominican Republic. According to the Universal Almanac of 1994, one of the four major industries is still gold mining.) A fort was established there, called La Navidad and 44 men were left there. He left on January 4th 1493, arrived back in Palos on March 15th. Columbus proceeded to the court in Barcelona with gold, cotton, parrots, mysterious plants and animals and Indians, which he brought back for baptism. He was received by their Catholic Majesties in full court after entering the city in a triumphal procession. SEA NAVIGATION Navigation is based largely on the spherical coordinates Latitude – the angular distance north or south of the equator and Longitude – angular distance east or west of a generally accepted reference location, such as the Greenwich Observatory (unknown in Columbus’ day). Christopher Columbus was a seasoned seaman and mainly used dead reckoning (from deduced reckoning) as his guide. Dead Reckoning begins at a known or assumed position and the navigator measures as best he can the heading and speed of the ship, the speeds of the ocean current and the leeward (downwind) drift of the ship and the time spent on each heading. Columbus also used his experience, observation, intuition and some guesswork. His instruments were probably the Sand Glass or Hour Glass (in Spanish “Ampoletta”) and the Log as accurate time is essential to dead reckoning. The Log consisted of a large spool of wood to which was attached a knotted line. As the spool unwound into the water and the sailor felt the first knot slip through his fingers, he shouted a signal to another sailor, who would turn a one-minute glass. The first sailor counted the number of knots passed until the sand ran out. A time of one minute (one-sixtieth of an hour), knots spaced one-sixtieth of a nautical mile apart, and simple arithmetic easily gave the speed of the ship in nautical miles per hour (“knots”). Columbus was fascinated by celestial navigation and his ship records indicate that he used the Astolabe and the Quadrant, somewhat unsuccessfully due to inclement weather. The Astrolabe was a circle of metal and had a moving arm that he would sight along to find the star’s altitude. The Quadrant is also a metal plate in the shape of a quarter circle from the center of which hung a weighted string. He would sight the North Star along one edge and the point at which the string crossed the edge would show the star’s altitude or angle above the horizon. The Compass, thought to have been invented by the Chinese in the eleventh century and Europeans in the twelfth, was certainly used by Christopher Columbus. With the magnetic needle in the Compass, we can locate the magnetic north pole. The earth’s magnetic field originates in the outer core, produced by molten iron more than 1,850 miles below the surface and is influenced to some degree by particles streaming from the sun. The north magnetic pole is currently 600 miles from the geographic pole (the axis around which the earth turns) and the erratic pole may jump around considerably each day. It is now thought to be in the Canadian Arctic close to Resolute Bay. The North Star, the Pole Star or Polaris gives a good approximation of true north. VOYAGE #2 began on September 24th 1493 with 3 great carracks (galleons), 1500 men, 12 of whom were missionaries under the orders of the Benedlcitine, Bernardo Bull or Boil. The first voyage of exploration was now to be a voyage of colonization and Christianization. The ships carried animals and materials for building and maintaining a permanent outpost of Spain. When Columbus arrived back at La Navidad on November 22, 1493, he found the fort burned and the colony dispersed. He learned from a local Indian chief that the men had become obsessed by gold and women and had been destroyed by the local population. Columbus proceeded to found another settlement further up the coast which he named Isabella. After establishing a gold mining camp in the interior, he left the administration to his brother, Diego and went off exploring again. On September 29th, Columbus returned to Isabella and lay ill for 5 months. The new colony had not prospered either – the climate proved unhealthy, the crew was interested only in the gold, and the Indians had been alienated. The Benedictine had returned to Spain. Along with his brother Bartholomew, Columbus put down an Indian rebellion. On June 24th 1495, 5 ship-loads of Indians were sent back to Seville to be sold as slaves. In October of that year, a Juan Aguado arrived at Isabella with a royal commission to report on the state of the colony and much recrimination followed. Columbus quitted Hispaniola and arrived back in Cadiz on June 14th 1496. He was again received cordially by their Catholic Majesties and given, for three years, 1/8th of the gross and 1/10th of the net profits of each voyage. VOYAGE #3 began May 30th 1498 with 6 caravels (2 had been sent on ahead) from San Lucar. On August 1st, he beheld the coast of South America, but it was not until he realized that the rush of water from the Orinoco River was from a continent did he realize the extent of his discovery. At home however, court approval was turning against the Admiral. Ex-colonists were bitterly complaining against the brothers. The Queen herself, based on the shipment of Indians sent to Spain, began to criticize Columbus. Meanwhile on the Island, Columbus had collected the Indians into villages, Christianized them, and gold mining was being profitably pursued. The arrival of Roldan Bobadilla quickly changed the state of affairs and Columbus was brought back to Spain in chains with accusations of severity, injustice and venality. A dispatch from Columbus to the former nurse of the infant Don Juan however managed to return him to Royal favor. When Columbus appeared in court on December 17th 1500, he was received with all honor and distinction. Bobadilla was drowned on a return voyage, much to the satisfaction of Columbus and his heirs. VOYAGE #4 began on May 9th 1502 from Cadiz with 4 caravels and 150 men. Columbus, ever anxious to please the Queen and King, was determined to find a strait through which he might penetrate westwards into Portuguese Asia. On July 30th, the first land was sighted, about 40 miles east of Honduras. It now became his ambition to plant a colony on the River Veragua (now on the coast of Panama) where gold was found to be very plentiful. By the end of March several huts were built and it was Columbus’ intention to leave his brother, Bartholomew there with 80 men while he returned to Spain for more men and supplies. Quarrels soon broke out however and the settlement had to be abandoned and the men rescued from the Indians. From Haiti, he sailed to Cuba and Jamaica. Columbus remained here for about a year, suffering from disease and the lawlessness of his followers. He sailed back for Spain on September 12th, arriving back in San Lucar on November 7th 1504. He was not a well man and his friend and chief benefactor, Queen Isabella, died 19 days later at Medina del Campo on November 26. King Ferdinand had never particularly cared for him or his enterprises. He did summon him to court in Segovia and then Valladolid in the spring of 1505. Although he neglected to restore his petition to regain his governorship of Hispaniola, he granted him a generous financial settlement. DEATH OF COLUMBUS – He died on May 20th 1505 in Valladolid at the age of 55 years. He did not die impoverished or alone – his family were with him. He died still convinced that he had found the land Marco Polo had reached in his overland journey to China. His ancestors, through the female line in 1934, belong to the Larreategui family, and retain the titles of Admiral and the Duke of Veragua. The whereabouts of his remains are still in question. CONTINUE with the DIARY of JULY 21 - SUNDAY – SEVILLA We left Palos de la Frontera for Seville around 2:30pm as Rolf was anxious to see if there were any bull fights scheduled for that afternoon. So, off we sped with our destination the old and famous city of Seville. Our drive back up the highway was uneventful, but as we approached we had a lot of trouble finding the airport where we were to drop off the car. Around and around we went, finally finding the sign pointing to the airport. Although the distance from Huelva was only about 94 kms,, we did not arrive until quite late in the afternoon. HOTEL GRAN LAR on Plaza de Carmen Benitez 3 was an older hotel catering to groups who wanted decent accommodations at a reasonable price that was within walking distance to the Cathedral. The room, pre-paid per voucher was $64.00 x 2 nights, x 1.02 x 7% - spent another $81.77 Well, there were no bullfights scheduled for that Sunday. We went fort a “walk around the block” for some fresh air after dinner in the hotel dining room. Passed some young youths by the hotel – was glad that I was not alone! I had a somewhat sleepless night again – so much talk, talk, talk and a lot of driving. SEVILLA Population in 1975: 590.000. It was apparently, originally an Iberian settlement, under the Romans, it became “Hispalis”, under the Moors in 712 it became, “Ishbilya”. It became a part of Christian Spain in 1248 under Fernando III. This conqueror is now the patron saint of the city. Its importance lies in its location on (mostly) the left bank of the Rio Guadalqruivir and less than 100 miles up the Atlantic coast from the ancient, fortified seaport of Sanlucar de Barramedea. The city flourished from the rich trade provided by the Spanish acquisition of colonies in the New World. I am assuming that this inland port on the navigable (though requiring occasional dredging) Rio Guadalquivir, gave this city the same protection from piracy that the prosperous inland cities of London and Athens had enjoyed. They were both sufficiently up river from the sea to enjoy security from sudden descent from a hostile fleet. The city adhered to the Republican Government at the commencement of the Spanish Civil War. It was seized, fortuitously by a Nationalist general. The proscriptions were excessive and the repression brutal. Today, the waterfront is a lively shipping outlet for interior produce (olives, sherry and porcelain). The old city, El Arenal, is a beautiful area along the river bank and contains the bullring and the Cathedral. Its reputation as a “thieves paradise” may now be undeserved. Sevilla, through Beaumarchais, who visited Madrid in 1764, supplied the background for Mozart’s “Le Mariage de Figaro” (1786), to “Don Giovanni” (1787); to Rossini”s “Barbiere di Siviglia” (1816) and to Bizet’s “Carmen” (1875). Byron”s “Don Juan” (1818) was a local hidalgo (nobleman). The city is also famous for its Easter festivities. DIARY – MONDAY – JULY 22nd Up that morning and walked down Menendez Pelayo (a big, busy street) until we came to the Gardens of Murillo. We thought we could just see the high tower of the Cathedral y Giralda. However, it soon became obscured by the trees and the warren of buildings and narrow streets in what is known as the Santa Cruz district of Sevilla. Our “Tourist Map” of old Sevilla showed the details of the area known as El Arenal, located on the banks of the Rio Guadalquivir and adjacent to it the old Jewish Quarter, the Barrio de Santa Cruz. As we wandered through the winding streets, we chanced to pass a shop that sold musical instruments. Inside was an older man strumming a guitar. We went in and Rolf asked him in Spanish if he could recognize a tune he would hum. Rolf hummed the tune we had heard in the streets of Granada that he had identified as “The Green Moon”. The guitarist identified the tune as “Romantique Anonimo”, but they did not have a recording of this beautiful music. We bought a few souvenir gifts and continued our search for, as advertised, the largest Gothic Cathedral in Europe. The Cathedral in Seville is the 3rd largest Christian Cathedral in the world, after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. We found the massive entrance behind a locked iron gate, then, we had to circle the church twice before finding that the tourist’s entrance was from a side door. We paid our admission and stepped inside to a maze of corridors and chapels. Again, we learned that the church had been built (1248-1928) on the site of a Moorish Mosque. The ground plan is a nave with double aisles, off which open side chapels. A central dome is 121 feet high. The REREDOS (an ornamental screen behind an altar) was an enormous Gothic work containing 44 panels of gilt and colored wood carvings begun in1482 by the Flemish artist Pyeter Dancart. This was one of the most impressive sights in this Cathedral, it rose, I don’t know how many feet, behind an iron grill and it emphasized the wealth that came from the New World. The altar is in the Main Chapel or CAPILLA MAYOR and is located between what looks like an apse and the choir stall. Behind this Main Chapel on either side of what looks like an apse in the floor plan are chapels to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The transepts do not project beyond the side wall. Gothic construction began on the west side of the Cathedral using stone in 1434-1517. From 1528-1601 Renaissance construction included the Royal chapel, the main Vestry, the Chapter Hall and the corresponding annexes. Baroque style (1618-1662) added the Sanctuary Parish and two other chapels. Between 1825-1928, three main portals and the southwest angle were completed. In the chapel to Baltasar del Rio (died 1540), of special interest to Rolf, was a bas, enameled terracotta relief of the Virgen de Granada by Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525, a nephew of Luca 1400-1482). Rolf had often pointed out a copy of his style at the Chicago Art Institute. We tried to follow a visitor’s guide for the Cathedral. Of special interest was the remains of the original minaret, called La Giralda (322 feet high) after a 16th century weather vane at the top portraying Faith. The tomb of Christopher Columbus (Colon) is interesting. It is massive and occupied an area in front of the main entrance. When Columbus died in 1506 in Valladolid, it seems that he was first buried in the Carthusian Monastery in Seville. His remains were exhumed in 1541 from this burial place and sent to Santo Domingo in Hispaniola. In 1759, on secession of the island to the French, his remains were again exhumed and transferred to Havana, whence after the Spanish-American War of 1898, the remains were transferred to the cathedral in Sevilla. According to the latest record 06/09/2002, a Spanish history school teacher, Marcial Castro, and a colleague would like to have DNA decide where the remains actually rest. They would like strands of Hernando Colon, a son of Columbus through an extra-marital affair who is also buried in the Cathedral in Seville, to be matched with remains from the tomb. There is also apparently a Biblioteca Columbina somewhere in the building which contains a lot of Columbus’ archives, including his treatise to prove that his projects were not antagonistic to the Scriptures. The Patio of the Orange Trees is on one side of the Cathedral, but the usual entrance is by the Puerto del Logarto (lizard). We took a picture of this replicated crocodile, partly obscured by an archway of mudejar stuccowork. (MUDEJAR art is what is commonly referred to the art done by Muslims for their Christian patrons after the re conquest of Spain. It is truly beautiful, with Arabic calligraphy and horseshoe arches). Anyway, the original crocodile was an unconventional present accompanied by a request from the Sultan of Egypt for the hand of the daughter of Alfonso X in 1260. We exited the Cathedral by this door. I do not remember the orange trees, the paintings by Zubaran or Murillo or the stained glass windows. The same afternoon, we walked over to El Arenal, to see the arcaded arena of the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, (the bullring) begun in 1761. It holds 14,000 spectators and is located on the banks of the Rio Guadalquivir. We followed a tour guide through many rooms which gave a history of bullfighting in Spain. There were costumes worn by famous bullfighters. I also remember seeing some decapitated heads. Adorning the river façade were fragments of ironworks from the 19th century ammunition works that first occupied the site. That evening, we saw our second FLAMENCO show. It was bigger and more professional than the one we saw in Cadiz, but equally captivating and enjoyable. We had our pictures taken. FLAMENCO MUSIC and DANCING is usually associated with GYPSIES. The origin of the word FLAMENCO is somewhat mysterious. According to one version, it is a mispronunciation of the Arabic word “felag-mengu” (fugitive peasant), which dates back to the 800’s. This seems unlikely as the word FLAMENCO did not become synonymous with Andalusian Gypsies until the 1700’s. At that time, FLAMENCO in Spanish meant FLEMISH or a person from Flanders. There is also a Dutch word, “vlaming” which means fire or flame.Two other origins have to do with the Spanish Monarchs. The first one has to do with Charles I of Spain, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire who was born in Ghent, Belgium. When the King arrived to take over Spain in 1517, the boisterous behavior of court retainers from Flanders who accompanied him was typical of the Flemish. The second origin has to do with soldiers of Felipe II (Charles son and heir) who, when they returned from Flanders, picked up on the wild and unrestrained, GYPSY music in Andalusia and dubbed it Flemish music. Following the intolerance of Isabella and Ferdinand toward opposition to unification of Spain through Catholicism, the MOORS and the SEPHARDIC JEWS (from whom the SAETA comes) were either forced to convert or leave the country. The GYPSIES often escaped into mountain caves and much of FLAMENCO MUSIC comes from their sadness and sorrow. It is from the haunting melodies of the SEPHARDIM, the melancholy of ARABIAN music that FLAMENCO was born. The Moors probably introduced the guitar-like instruments which later evolved into FLAMENCO guitars. Some historians date FLAMENCO music to a musician from Bagdad, named Zyrab, who founded a singing school in Cordoba in the 800’s. Apparently, elements of Persian music and poetry were introduced to Andalusia. Many of the FLAMENCO songs are sung in CALO, the language of Spanish GYPSIES. The melting pot of Andalusian Spain is the birthplace of FLAMENCO. FLAMENCO, with its GUITAR PLAYING, DANCING by women in full ruffled skirts dotted vividly with polka dots - along with men in tight fitting black pants, the SINGING of the CANTE, the HAND CLAPPING and rattling of CASTENETS, has evolved over the years. Most important in any FLAMENCO PERFORMANCE is DUENDE which requires an abandonment of self consciousness and complete absorption in artistic expression. Calculation is the enemy of DUENDE, spontaneity is what makes FLAMENCO work. The exhilarating iridescence of the music and dance punctuated by rhythmic hand clapping and boot stomping makes FLAMENCO both earthbound and elevating. When speech can no longer bear the weight of emotion, a lament of abandonment, called “soleares” may be sung: "Sometimes, I would like to go mad and not feel for being mad, takes away grief, grief that has no solution. Death came to my bedside But did not wish to take me. As my destiny was not yet complete; On its departure, I began to weep. I am living in the world devoid Of hope; It is not necessary to bury me As I am buried alive". The GYPSIES The name itself comes from Egyptian, as some Gypsies claimed to be descendents of the Pharaohs. Most believe, however that they originated in the Punjab in northern India. Historians do know that this nomadic people began to travel westward through Persia into Greece and Turkey in A.D. 1000’s. From there, they migrated into Romania, Germany, reaching France and Spain in the 1400’s. They practiced handicrafts, smithing and entertainment and at first were welcomed in the European kingdoms. In time however, cultural differences, like skin color and desultory habits, led to persecution. There are elements of Sanscrit in their spoken language, as well as traces of Armenian and languages of the many other countries that they traveled through. Although they did not invent FLAMENCO, they have had more influence on the music than any other group. BACK to the DIARY of JULY 23rd – TUESDAY We left Sevilla, by train at 11am for Cordoba with tickets purchased in Valencia. The short distance (138 kms.) was covered quickly and we arrived at 11:40. We took a taxi directly to the Parador, where we decided to relax and spend the day. See past page for our 6-hour layover in Cordoba on July 18th and our visit to its main tourist attraction, the MESQUITA. JULY 23rd – TUESDAY – CORDOBA PARADOR la ARRUZAFA de CORDOBA was built at the foot of the Cordoba mountain range, just to the north of the city. It was constructed on the ruins of the summer palace of Abderraman I (died 788). The luminous rooms are surrounded by magnificent gardens and a sheltered swimming pool. One night @ $122.60 x 1.03 x 7% (VAT) = $135.12; spent $271.09. Lazed around the pool all day. CORDOBA. – POPULATION IN 1989 was 279,400. This city is situated at the highest navigable point on the banks of the Rio Quadalquivar. The river, whose source is from the Sierra Morena mountain range, was known in Roman times as the River Baetis - Guadalquivir is from Arabic Wadi al-Kabir meaning “Great River”. The city first came to prominence under the Romans as Corduba, due to its position on the Guadalquivir, to its proximity to mines, rich grazing fields and to the building of the Via Augusta, a great commercial roadway that connected it to northern Spain. Its history, like that of Granada and Sevilla, is a dizzying account of success and failure. During the Roman period, the noted philosopher and preceptor to Nero, Lucius Seneca was sired here (4 BC - 65 AD). The Romans built a pagan Roman temple on the site where later occupation by the Visigoths gave the region its first taste of Christianity (5 – 700 AD). On the site of the temple they constructed a Christian Church for St. Vincent. When the Moors invaded in 756, they were aided by disaffected Jewish inhabitants who had been harassed by their Christian masters. Emirs from Damascus founded a dynasty and ultimately raised the city to a pinnacle of power and prosperity. According to one source, it was “surpassed in size and opulence only by the city of Baghdad”. It is noted that this city, now in Iraq, begun almost 4000 years ago, commanded the two waterways of the Tigris and Euphrates and was close to the limit of navigation of the former stream. These Moors of Cordoba were powerful enough to rule all of Muslim Spain, which they called al-Andalus. By the 10th century, they had established a university and literature and science were encouraged. However, by the 11th century, internal dissent and incursion in 1013 by the Almohades (inspired by a fundamentalist, Mahommed ibn Turant) and Berbers laid a foundation for its downfall. It was split into petty kingdoms called taifas. In 1236, it was recaptured for Christianity by Ferdinand III. The Jewish physician and philosopher, Maimonides was born here (1135-1204), but he fled due to the ferocity of Almohades persecution. The philosopher, Averroes (1126-1198), was also a native. Following the unification of Spain with the fall of Granada in 1492, Cordoba was considered an evil place. For centuries, Christian indifference to its trade, industry and agriculture, and its expulsion of the Jewish merchants led to its decline. A final blow came in 1808 when the French stormed and sacked the city. One of its most famous exports, Cordoban leather, is still produced here. The last 60 years have seen a remarkable economic revival due partly to the tourist trade. The expansion of this city now goes up to the foothills of the Sierra Morena range. Cordoba fell to the Nationalists early in the Civil War and proscriptions were severe. In municipal elections in 1979, reaction set in and a Communistic mayor was elected. There are many worthwhile sites for tourists to see in this, the hottest Spanish city in summer. BACK to the DIARY - JULY 24th - WEDNESDAY Up early for a very ambitious day. Caught the crack Spanish AVE train from Cordoba to Madrid (400 kms ) at 8:11am, arrived in Madrid, luggage and all at 10:00am. Bought 2 tickets for Toledo (71 kms or 45 miles) and were off for another Spanish city at 12:26pm. We arrived at 1:25pm. On the way to Toledo, we met a very nice Spanish father (from Cuba) who works in Sao Paulo, Brazil for an English company, “La Diadra”. His two lovely children were about 6 & 7 years old. Their names were Andrea and Luis Consuegra. They were on their way to visit a small town outside of Toledo by the name of Consuegra. (You can look up this fortress on google.com) He described a beautiful resort on the coast of Brazil called “Jericoacoara Learo CForaleja”, which had been reviewed in the New York Times. The weather on our arrival in Toledo, in the middle of July, was predictably hot and dry. The Railroad Station with its 3 story ceilings was, however, cool and refreshing. We admired the beautiful mosaic tile lining the interior before catching a taxi up to the Parador. It was late in the afternoon by the time we were settled, but we took a taxi down to Toledo to see the Cathedral. PARADOR de TOLEDO - this was a truly beautiful place to stay. Built about 30-35 years ago, it had all the rustic accoutrements of an expensive, country home. Its location was magnificent – perched on a steep hillside, it overlooked the winding River Tagus and entire peninsular city of Toledo. One night @ (it was supposed to be $114/night) $128.74 x 1.02 = $131.31 x 7% = $140.50. Spent $277.92. We did not get a chance to use their swimming pool. TOLEDO - 1996 population was 62,000. The city occupies a rugged promontory of granite, surrounded on all sides, except the north by the River Tagus. The river flows through a deep and precipitous gorge. It became a Roman capital in 193 B.C. By the 6th century, the Visigoths had set up court in this fortress. In 711, the city was captured by the Moors and in 1085 was recaptured for Christianity (with the aid of El Cid) by Alfonso VI. Because the city had not resisted the invasion, both Jews and Moors resumed normal lives there. Tribute was still paid to the court at Cordoba. The departure of the Jews in 1492, the Moroscos around 1519 and Phillip II’s (or Felipe) decision to move the capital of Spain to Madrid led to its decline. The most famous attractions of Toledo are the steel swords and the fact that el Greco moved here to paint in 1579 after Phillip II had dismissed him from El Escorial. The city is dominated by two massive buildings: The Alcazar and the Cathedral. The large, square Alcazar began as a fortified palace for Charles V, was a military academy and is now a symbol of Franco’s victory over the Communistic Republicans. The Cathedral, begun in 1227, was not finished for 300 years which added to its architectural diversity. Added to the main gothic features are mudejar, baroque and neoclassical elements. The rest of the city appears to be a series of dune colored 3 story buildings. The gardens behind the residences are not apparent from the street. BACK to the DIARY of JULY 24 – WEDNESDAY The Cathedral in Toledo (begun in 1227, built over a Mosque, which in turn had been built over a Christian Visigothic church), viewed from the Parador, looked commanding with its Gothic flying buttresses and its towering belfry. When we came closer, the crowding of residential buildings all but obscured the architecture. We were not allowed entrance through the main door between the belfry and much smaller tower, but paid admission at a side door. The floor plan of this mighty structure consisted of a main Nave, with two aborted transepts. This Nave is surrounded by private chapels and is interrupted by a multi tiered choir stall. The choir stalls are said to provide seats for 80 singing priests. The ornately carved interior accommodates five layers of carved art which depicts the battle of Granada and various Biblical figures. In front of this came a spectacular “Transparente” Altarpiece, behind which a gauzy, gold encrusted iron screen rose in front of one of the most beautiful High Altar Reredos. This rose the full height of the Cathedral. A “White Virgin with Child”, at the foot of the Altar, was notable for her dark face, like the virgin of Montserrat in Barcelona and also of St. Fermin in Pamplona. The Reredos were carved from larch wood covered with gold leaf. They composed tier upon tier of religious tableaux, topped by an enormous Crucifixion featuring a mammoth Christ surrounded by the two thieves and two Mary’s in red. The long hall to the Sacristy was lined with El Greco’s paintings of the Apostles. In his “Spoliation of Christ”, one could see the passion and terror of 16th century Spain. In “The Arresting of Jesus on the Mount of Olives” by Goya, one could see the earthiness of Spain in the ugly faces. By the time we saw the Cathedral in Toledo, we were almost Cathedraled-out, but the outstanding carving in the choir stalls and the Reredos left lasting impressions. We sat on stone benches after touring the Cathedral. I enjoyed a few moments of peace and quiet in the late afternoon sun before catching a taxi back to the Parador for dinner. JULY 25 - THURSDAY Off to an early start for sightseeing in this city made doubly famous by the paintings of El Greco. Rolf took several panoramic pictures from our balcony of the entire city at different times of the day. He was terribly disappointed at the end of the day to find that his film had fallen out of my carry-all. Anyway, we started out at the Railway Station, where we checked our luggage. We began at the “House” of El Greco. The entrance was crowded by other buildings. The “House” was built in the old Jewish quarter of Toledo between 1907 and 1910. It was recovered by the Marquis de la Vega-Inclan and was opened to the public in 1911 to lodge the paintings of El Greco that were scattered around the city. The Greek, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, was born on the island of Crete in 1541. In 1560, he arrived in Venice, moving on to Rome in 1570. Though in Rome he discovered the work of Michelangelo, his later paintings remained influenced by the expression of Venetian colors by Tintoretto and Titian. In 1577, he is found in Spain attracted by work at El Escorial in Madrid. Offers of commission in Toledo, following his lack of appreciation in Madrid by Phillip II, prompted his move to this city in 1580. Here, he developed his personal way of painting. His commissions must have paid him well, for when he died at the age of 77, he was occupying 24 rooms of a palace belonging to the Marquis de Villena and his library contained editions of architecture, Homer, Plutarch, Aristotle and Petrarch. His bold and capricious style was not copied. The original painting of “St. Peter in Tears” was owned by the Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, D.C. and another equally famous painting, “The Assumption of the Virgin” can be seen at the Chicago Art Institute. It is painted with daring intensity in a rich, deep color scheme. His portrait paintings and those of Toledo were well represented in this museum. Rolf’s comment about the similarity of the faces prompted him to remark that El Greco was probably given a commission to paint 12 Apostles for a set fee and he just used the same face for them all - just changed the color of the robes to give variety. Rolf did however like the one of St. Peter in Tears so I bought him a reproduction for about 3 euros that was on sale at the exit. Well, after spending some time at the El Greco Museum, we made our tortuous way up the hill to find the Santa Cruz Museum which Michener had advertised as holding the best Visigothic artifacts. On the way, we passed several shops selling the famous blades of Toledo with damascene décor, but we were not tempted knowing that they would probably be confiscated at customs (since 9/11, no “weapons” are allowed). On the walk up the hill I noticed about four men, who appeared to be about sixty years of age, all of whom seemed to have one leg shorter than the other?? We arrived at the town square (the zocodover), but were unable to find the Museum. Tired and hot, I bought a couple of bottles of water and 6 bananas, which we ate on a bench in the center of the square. Finally, Rolf was able to get the directions – across the street and down a flight of steps. We arrived at the renovated 16th century hospital and were absolutely unable to find anyone who could tell us where the Visigothic relics were. So, we wandered upstairs and downstairs in the inner gardens trying to locate what turned out to have been moved to the Church of San Roman. There, the Visigothic Culture and Councils Museum had been installed. The time for us to take the train back to Madrid was fast approaching, so we took a passerby’s advice to take a bus back to the Railroad Station. We got back in time for a quick lunch across the street. The bill for cheese, jambon and a beer came to about 25 euros which we thought was a bit excessive. The waiter redeemed himself, however by running after us with Rolf’s jacket, which he had forgotten on the back of his chair. We boarded the train from Toledo back to Madrid at 4:20pm and arrived back at 5:36pm. Back to the HOTEL AROSA where we were given a room right on the street. In my own inimitable, know-it-all fashion, I immediately called down to the desk for a quiet room. They instantly accommodated and for three nights we were quietly ensconced. By the time we got settled into our room on the seventh floor with windows looking out over pan-tiled rooftops, it was too late for any more sightseeing. I was pretty tired after our day of touring Toledo, so ate snacks from the frig, Rolf, however, had a taste for Chinese food and went out in search of a restaurant. MADRID The current population of the capital of Spain is now over 3 million. It is situated in the geographic center of Spain on a elevated plateau rising 2372 ft. above sea level. It was built on the banks of the River Manzanares, which has been channelized. To understand its history, one must go back to King Carlos I or Carlos V of the Holy Roman Empire. Remember, from Granada, he was the grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand who succeeded them over their surviving child, “Mad Juana”. Carlos ruled Spain, Naples, part of North Africa and the Netherlands and all the American colonies for over 50 years. After abdicating his throne to his son Felipe II (or Phillip) in 1556, he retired to a barren part of Spain to the monastery of Yuste in the Extremaduras. In his farewell to his subjects, he recounted his travels and many campaigns and asked them to forgive any that he had offended. His son and heir, Phillip II’s second wife was Mary Tudor of England. In letters to his son, he exhorts him to hold fast to the Catholic Church and to support the Inquisition. Also, in letters apparently read by James Michener, (see page 438 in Iberia), he directed his son to bury him where he thought appropriate. After his father’s death in 1558, Phillip II scouted the countryside for a suitable place to build a monastery of unprecedented proportions that would serve as a mausoleum for the Hapsburgs. About 31 m. N.W. of Madrid, he found a suitable site on a hill unto which iron mining “scoriae” had been dumped. During his lifetime Carlos had apparently benefited from the keen air in Madrid and had made it his occasional residence. In 1560, Phillip moved the capital from Toledo to Madrid. The construction of el Escorial was not begun until 1563. Carlos V was the first Hapsburg king to be interred there following some years in the chapel in Yuste. Today, el Escorial is considered one of a tourist’s must-see’s. It stands out against the foothills of the Sierra Guadarrama to the northwest of the city. Madrid today is a bustling, prosperous city. Building cranes dot the skyline as they did in all the cities which I visited during my five week tour of the countryside. Madrid may be divided into “Old Madrid” whose biggest show piece is the Palacio Real; “Bourbon Madrid” – notable are the Art Museums here - the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Centro de Arte Riena Sofia, the Archeological Museum and the Cortes which is the home of the Spanish Parliament; “Farther A Field” is the Museo America and el Rastro. The newer suburbs stretch well beyond the old city limits. FRIDAY - JULY 26th Rolf had never been to the Prado, so off we set. On the way down the Gran Via, we passed a store selling records and C.D.’s. We stopped in and finally found a recording of “Romantique Anonimo” on a C.D. which we carried around for the rest of the day. My policy is, "Buy It When You See It” if it’s Something You Want!! We walked down Gran Via until it joined the main street of Madrid, Calle de Alcala - on the shady sides of the street as it was 41 degrees Celsius. We turned right at the Plaza de Cibelles on our way to the Prado. The Paseo de Prado passes through a shady tree lined street, then around the Plaza Canovas del Castillo to the left. The PRADO (meaning “meadow”), a world famous art museum was originally built in 1785 as a natural history museum. It was meant to be a center for scientific enlightenment but by time it was completed in 1819 its function was changed to exhibiting the vast collection of Spanish paintings that had been collected by royalty. Painting is one of Spain’s greatest contributions to world culture and our experience there proved the point. Most of the paintings are by Spanish artists although there are many from the Low Counties, which Spain occupied for many years. We enjoyed Velasquez, Goya, more el Grecos, Zubarans, Murillos, Ribera and on the first floor, the Flemish acquisitions of Hieronymus Bosch, Rubens and Rogier van der Weyden on the lower floor. We left the Prado, still unfulfilled, but pressed on to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo. The entrance was celebrating Dali. This collection, purchased from the Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza in 1992 for 232 British pounds by the Spanish state was reckoned to be the greatest collection in private hands after those of Queen Elizabeth. The 800 paintings are lodged in 18th century former Palacio de Villahermosa. From its beginnings in the 1920’s, the collection was intended to illustrate the history of Western art. We admired Picasso’s “Harlequin with a Mirror”, and especially Edward Hopper’s 1931, “Hotel Room”. There was a portrait of the Baron by Lucien Freud, there were Rubens, Titians, Zubarans from the 16th and 17th century as well as 20th century exhibits by Rauchenburg and Dali. Dali’s paintings of nudes was mesmerizing as they departed from his better known dream-like surrealistic works. We had lunch in their modern cafeteria here. I had the tripe and radish soup, which I had first tasted at Rich Covello’s Mexican friend, Eugenio Astudio’s home – called “Menudo”? It was delicious. We then pressed on to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia to see the highlight of its collections, Picasso’s “Guernika”. The modern art collection is housed in Madrid’s former General Hospital and I found the interior reminiscent with its corridors off a courtyard leading into rooms that were once occupied by patients. The addition of a glass elevator on either side of the main entrance looked rather incongruous to me, but they served a purpose without destroying the whitewashed, aseptic interior. Of special interest around the finished “Guernika” are many of the artist’s trial sketches. One wonders if Picasso ever really felt that his composition which reflects total chaos was ever really complete. The anguished mother with a dead child, the wounded horse representing the Spanish people, the witnesses to the massacre staring in wonder and disbelief, the crucifixion gesture and the small flower as a symbol of hope in the midst of despair – can any one painting represent the horrors of pre-emptive war? On our way to the Queen Sofia Museum, Rolf was accosted by three young girls. I was walking about 10’ in front of him when I heard him shout, “She’s got my wallet!”. When I turned around, I find Rolf with a choke hold around one girl’s neck, his wallet lying on the pavement beside him and two other young girls looking on. I picked up the wallet, it was intact and Rolf let go of the girl. The three backed away quickly while Rolf examined his wallet and I shook my fist at them, calling them, “Bad girls, bad girls”. Apparently, they had approached Rolf and put a large map of Madrid up to his face, asking him if he “Speaka-de-Englich”? Then Rolf felt a hand in his deep right hand pocket where he had put his wallet. We later speculated that the girls must have seen him buy an ice cream at a stand not far up the street and noted where he put his wallet. After the “incident”, we were joined by a shopkeeper who explained that the thieves were not from Spain, but from other European countries that membership in the E.U. had let in. So much for our only adventure with pickpockets in Spain! I asked Rolf about his quick reaction to the girl who tried to pick his pocket and he said that that was the way they used to protect themselves when he was growing up in Chicago. We got back to the hotel, ate for 87 euros at their restaurant and dressed for the theatre. Rolf had perused the theatre scene and at 8 o’clock we found ourselves at the Teatro Neuvo Apolo to see Manuel de Falla’s (1876-1946) “el Amor Brujo”. His “Ritual Fire Dance” impressed me most with its series of 21 staccato chords reminding one of flamenco handclapping. I showed my ignorance of music by commenting afterwards, “Why was Verdi’s (1813-1901) music from “Il Trovatore” copied in the middle? The music by de Falla was followed by “Noches” and then “Saeta”, a religious presentation that was truly innovative and beautiful. Saeta apparently comes from the liturgical chant of the Jews in Spain. SATURDAY, JULY 27th OUR LAST DAY in SPAIN Back to the Prado again. I got us completely disoriented on our way back to the Hotel Arosa. Without the compass, I took a left turn too soon before the Plaza Cimbeles and we wandered around in the heat for about an hour before finally finding the Calle Alcala again. That night Rolf treated me to a meal at “the oldest restaurant in Europe” dating back to 1725. Off we went in a taxi to Botins on Calle de Cuchilleros. It boasts original wood burning ovens for roast pig and lamb. We ordered an Iberian entrée which consisted of lots and lots of salty ham. We ate in a brick walled basement as the rooms upstairs were all filled. The highlight of the evening was the appearance of the TUNA, a group of handsome, supposedly University students who played guitars and sang. They were absolutely delightful. Afterwards, Rolf bought me a pint sized, ceramic pitcher with the name Botin the date 1725 and their address on it. It is a wonderful souvenir. Rolf has a much smaller one, which he treasures as a memory of his younger days when he first visited the restaurant. SUNDAY, JULY 28TH I was meant catch Iberia Flight # 6275 @ 11:50am, to arrive in Chicago @ 2:10pm. Rolf was on a different airline going to London, then on to Chicago. My plane did not leave the tarmac for 3 hours, on his airline, Rolf got bumped up to first class and slept in sublime comfort all the way home. My seatmate on the delayed flight proved to be the only consolation for a 12 hour flight. I did not get his name and we communicated through a Spanish-English dictionary. This sailor from A Coruna, who works for Tyco, had been on vacation leave from this American company. His work involved laying cable from Europe to America from a depth of 1500 Ma? He also told me that Christopher Columbus was born in Galicia and that a man named Philippot was the “autor” of the book to prove the case. The reasoning is based on the number of names Columbus gave to rivers and islands in the Caribbean that he discovered which were familiar names from Galacia: like Cuba after Caba Cruz, the river Xallas (?) in Venezuela after a river north of Pontevedra, which is where he claimed that Columbus or Colon was from. Other names that he wrote down for me were Carlos, Christina, Budino, Seivane, Nunez and Pato. When I asked him what accounted for the prosperity of Spain, was it the King? Franco? the E.U.? His response was “the Spanish people”. He also expressed concerns about the level of unemployment in Spain and told me that the construction that I had seen was because people had taken their gains from the stock market and were investing in real estate. So much for my one and only real conversation with a Spanish citizen after 5 weeks in Spain. I saw a lot of its geography, certainly enjoyed all the sightseeing. What I enjoyed most of all, I guess was the music that I heard: from Cesare Gabarain’s “Pescador de Hombres” to the “Romantique Anonimo” first heard in the streets of Granada to Flamenco in an-Andalus to the Tunas in Madrid. I was very touched by the poetry of Rosalia de Castro, Pierre Reverdy and Jose Marti. The prosperity and the cleanliness were reassuring after reading accounts of the Civil War. I enjoyed traveling alone the first week, then with my sister, Marilyn the second week. Getting to know her a little better was a real treat. Then with Rolf Forsberg the last three weeks, always enlarging every experience with his vast knowledge and support. After many weeks and personal encounters, what can one really say about another country, but record first impressions? The excursion, for which I had saved $9,000.00, cost $12,000. My only regret is that on the second day in Madrid, I did not get to see el Escorial, the Museum of the Americas or the Archeological Museum. I would also like to thank and commend the patience and excellent work done by Thor Forsberg and his colleague, Gretchen of Scandia World Travel (800-722-4322). They responded to my every request for help on a personally planned itinerary and provided plane, train, car rental and many excellent hotel reservations. This diary I dedicate to my two precious granddaughters, Eleanor and Margaret Till Colligan and my equally precious grandson, Luke Arrhenius Till. I hope that, one day they too will travel to Spain and buy for themselves a Black Beret.
posted by Dorothy Till at 1:35 PM 0 comments
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